


Live In The Shadows of Legends

by Beneath_the_Trees



Series: Repeating Legends (Over and Over Again) [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: I came up with this months ago, I will incorporate Galra Keith somehow if it's the last thing I do, It'll make sense eventually, Keith keeps a lot of things to himself, Legend of Zelda AU, M/M, Mentions of Drowning, Nightmares, Original paladins - Freeform, admittedly not much romance at first, and make him have fuzzy cat ears, black and red are the most frequently mentioned because plot, divergence from skyward sword canon, don't know how well this will turn out, it's like skyward sword but not, it's not the main plot point, protective red lion (Voltron), skyward sword au, something like reincarnation?, trust me - Freeform, voltron is Fi, wise black lion (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-09-25 10:00:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 38,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9814460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beneath_the_Trees/pseuds/Beneath_the_Trees
Summary: (Previously named Tame the Monster (Learning to Fly))A year ago, top Knight Takashi Shirogane, his friend Matt Holt, and Samuel Holt had all been swept down to the surface beneath the clouds by a pitch black tornado, never to be heard from again.Keith Kogane, the "delinquent" ex-knight-in-training and the one everyone knew was closest to Shiro, started to be plagued by nightmares he can't explain exactly a week ago, on the anniversary of Shiro's supposed death. He could feel deep in his bones that something was changing- that something bad was rising- and he needed to learn what that was. Something at the base of the goddess statue called to him.Little did he know that by acting out on the calling, he was going to find out his purpose- his destiny, along with an amnesic Shiro, self proclaimed rival Lance, Lance's friends Pidge and Hunk, and two surface dwellers who go by the names Coran and Allura.





	1. Chapter 1

_A black sword stood in stone, wisps of dark purple coming from it's holding place. Groans and tremors splot the earth, a low, monstrous sound. Keith was frozen where he stood, forced to watch as the sword's hold broke, purple mist shooting into the air like a geyser, a purple and murky blood red monster rising from the depths. It roared, shaking the earth around it. It was lizard-like in it's appearance, the only oddity besides its coloring being the sword still stuck in the top of its head, and the menacing gold eyes that pierce into Keith's soul. The monster stared at Keith for but a moment, before letting out a loud roar and lunging for him, mouth wide open and jagged teeth filling it. Keith screamed, tried to get away but found himself unable to move, and closed his eyes, waiting for an inevitable end._

_When nothing happened, Keith slowly opened his eyes, gasping and letting out a small shout when he found himself floating in an inky blackness, a colorful shine freezing the monster in place._

_**"Red....my beautiful... Red... Paladin.... Keith...."** A feminine voice purred. Keith looked around, trying to find the source of the voice._

_"Who are you?"_

_" **Rise, Keith... The time has come for you to awaken... Your destiny will find you...**_ _**And you will be reunited with the one you lost...** " Another, slightly deeper and more masculine voice spoke, although it was still feminine._

_He looked up as the shine intensified, and he gasped, looking up to see a bright white light with bits of blue, yellow, green, red and purple periodically shining as it shifted around the ball of light. His heart lodged in his throat when the ball of light disappeared and the monster roared again, throwing it's head back. It continued to roar, until the roar changed into a Loftwing's cry. Keith turned towards the source of the sound, saw his Loftwing's face right in front of him, and let out a cry of surprise, stumbling back._

Keith gasped as he landed on the floor of his room, groaning slightly from the pain. He looked up to where the window was, and glared at his Loftwing, a rare Crimson red, who innocently had her head sticking in the window. She cried again, blinking at Keith, and he huffed, "Did you have to startle me awake, Aka?"

His Loftwing only tilted her head to the side, blinking and nearly smirking at her rider. She cried again, watching as Keith untangled his legs from his sheets and he walked over to stroke her beak and give her a soft good morning.

"What do you want to do today, Aka? Want to try and find Kuro again? Or do you want to go visit some of the islands around here?" His heart ached as he mentioned Kuro, wondering if he would ever find her or her rider. Both Kuro and Shiro had been missing for over a year now, along with half of the Holt family. Although, if you asked the rest of the town- especially the Garrison- they'd tell you the three men were dead.

He shook his head, taking a deep breath and trying not to focus on the darker side of that thought.  He would find Shiro and Kuro. He would find them, and bring them back. Aka cooed, trilling slightly as she pressed against Keith and nudged his cheek. He chuckled faintly, smiling ever so slightly at his Loftwing. "Okay, okay. We can go visit the surrounding islands for hints of Kuro's location. Just let me get ready for the day, alright?"

Aka trilled again, cawing once, and disappeared back out of window, the wooden plank shutting again. Keith sighed softly, stretching and cracking his back a little before going to get dressed. He decided to pull his hair into a short ponytail, finding the small red hairband Shiro had given him a year ago, before he disappeared. He rubbed at his chest when he felt the familiar ache in his heart at the memory, lightly pressing down on it like it would ease the pain. He pulled his hair back and tied it into the ponytail, feeling the shorter strands fall back around his jaw.

Keith reached under his pillow, carefully pulling out the only momentum of his family left; a knife with a strange symbol on the thicker part of the blade, hidden beneath an old strip of cloth. He put it in its place on his lower back, tucked away in its sheath. He grabbed Shiro's black sleeveless vest, pulling it on over his long-sleeved red tunic shirt that went halfway down his thighs and baggy black pants as he left his small house, hidden beneath Skyloft. It had been abandoned years ago, and very few people bothered to look for it since it was considered haunted by an evil bat-like monster. 

He walked along the board walk to the ladder leading to the shed in the graveyard, silently climbing up and leaving the shed, making sure to close the door behind him. He pushed the tombstone back to where it should be, fingers brushing along the top as he thought of the name on the stone. It meant nothing to him, having been there long before he took ownership of the house, but whoever used to be family to this person had go to great lengths to protect the home and keep it secret, and he thanked them for it.

Aka called from her circling of the town of Skyloft, a bright spot of Crimson against the blue and white sky. He lifted a hand to let her know he heard, and calmly made his way to the wide open space the town liked to call the town square. It was flanked by the Knight Academy Garrison to one side, and on the other stood the ancient lighthouse, it's light having gone out many, many years prior to Keith's lifetime. Behind him stood the marketplace in the direct center, and off to the sides were the Statue of the Goddess who saved their lives and gave birth to the floating city of Skyloft, the training hall, and where the rest of the people in Skyloft lived; the residential area.

Keith made his way towards the nearest bridge that hung out over the side of Skyloft, allowing safe places for people to jump in order to be caught by their Loftwings. He spared no glance to Garrison, knowing he wasn't welcome there now even though he had been kicked out nearly a year ago. He bit the side of his cheek, ignoring the simmer of anger as he remembered _why_  he was kicked out.

Aka called again, and he heard the familiar boisterous shouts courtesy of Lance McClain from inside the Garrison's walls, heard the doors of the ground floor begin to creak open. He wasted no time in running forward, jumping from the edge of the bridge and letting himself free fall for a few moments. He had always enjoyed the feeling of the air around him, the sensations and adrenaline that free falling caused. He put his fingers to his lips, and let out a long whistle, and he heard Aka call, watched as her Crimson body streaked down from above to level beneath him, catching him from his fall and swooping back up when Keith's hands found purchase in her warm, soft feathers.

He sighed, closing his eyes and feeling like he could breathe again as the wind pushed his bangs from his face. He had always felt at home in the air. It helped him breathe easier, especially now that Shiro was missing and he had nightmares almost every night. Aka's body thrummed with life beneath him, she cooed in the back of his head, calming him and giving him a comfort through their connection he hadn't realized he needed after the latest nightmare.

Keith opened his eyes again, and he looked around, trying to see which way they should start from today. "Where do you want to start, Aka? The storm wall? Beetle's home island? Or the Pumpkin Landing?" Aka cawed, turning effortlessly towards the  Pumpkin Landing. He laughed softly, petting her feather gently. "Pumpkin Landing it is." Keith knew it wasn't _extremely_  normal for people to let their Loftwings guide them around, instead of the Loftwing moving where their rider wanted, but he had always had a different bond with his Loftwing than most, and trusted Aka to lead him where she thought best.

He looked around, lounging on Aka's back as she flew the short distance to the Pumpkin Landing. He sighed softly, telling her to circle the tavern with a gently tug on her collar. He studied the Pumpkin shaped building, trying to see if he could find any visible clues from here. After confirming that he couldn't, he carefully dropped from Aka's back, using Shiro's extra sail cloth to safely land on top of the orange building. He wandered around on top of the building, looking for any clues or feathers that might belong to Kuro.

Finding nothing but other Loftwing feathers, he slid down the side of the building and went inside, smiling weakly at the Tavern owner and his daughter. "Keith! Welcome back!" Alyssa said excitedly, smiling at the older boy. He tugged at the sleeve of his shirt before giving her a hesitant wave. He was never good at talking to people one on one, usually preferring to stay silent as they talked with another, and sometimes throwing in his two cents. Most times, he just didn't know what to say, or was worried he would say something wrong. Other times it was just too much for him, and he needed the quiet, needed to be lost in his thoughts as the others spoke and planned. He never really liked talking to other people, anyway. Of course, Shiro had become an exception.

Shiro would always be an exception.

"Hi Alyssa, Terrance." He said after a short moment, trying not to sound too unsure about being in their presence. The last time he had come here was at the unfortunately same time as Lance, and they had nearly started a fight that cost the Tavern owner his brand new chandelier. Terrance gave him a brief nod, and Alyssa motioned to the large round table, tapping one of the open seats. Keith got the hint, walking over and sitting where she wanted him to. 

"What brings you here today? Some more of our pumpkin stew, or information on if we've seen Kuro at all?" Alyssa smiled knowingly, her blue eyes twinkling, and Keith laughed nervously.

"Um.. You got me. Have you see Kuro at all?"

Alyssa's gentle smile turned saddened, and she shook her head, light blonde curls bouncing around her cheeks. "No, I'm sorry, Keith."

"Why do you still search for a dead man's Loftwing, Keith? She probably went back to wherever the Loftwings come from." Terrance asked, although his eyes held pity. The first week after Shiro had disappeared and Keith had been kicked from the Garrison was one no one in Skyloft wished to remember. Keith's light had completely snuffed out, and he had spent all his time as far away from the others as possible, always riding Aka or hiding away in the room Hunk's mother had graciously lent him until he just disappeared for two days. It had scared everyone not living at the Garrison, worried they had lost another bright mind in the span of two weeks. While those at the Garrison did not care much for Keith, the parents and older kids in Skyloft did, for they remembered the small orphaned boy who fought tooth and nail to survive outside the times whenever someone tried to take him in.

No one is entirely sure why he fought so hard to stay out of the families that offered to take him in, but they have a feeling it had to do with the first lady to take him in; a rude and strict old woman who collected many rare things and blew up whenever someone so much as touched the bookshelf they rested on. Keith would have been six then, full of endless energy and bound to accidentally bump into the shelf on occasions or poke at the things there out of curiosity. The lady's words had always been harsh; built to dig into old wounds and create new ones, and the people of Skyloft imagined her nails sharper.

"Shiro's not dead." Keith said firmly, gritting his teeth. "He's missing."

"Keith, I understand what Shiro meant to you, but you have to understand-"

"Dad! Enough!" Alyssa snapped, sending a glare to her father. Terrance blanched, clearing his throat and looking away. Alyssa sighed, shaking her head. She looked at Keith, who had begun to curl in on himself. "Ignore him. I'm sure you'll find Kuro eventually, Keith. Now then, would you like some warm soup? It's a little nippy outside, after all."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loftwing Names and Meanings:
> 
> Kuro (Shiro's): Black  
> Aka (Keith's): Red  
> Azul (Lance's): Blue  
> Prasinus (Pidge's): Green (Latin)  
> Lega (Hunk's): Yellow (Samoan)
> 
> If Pidge or Hunk's Loftwing's name is incorrect, please let me know what is correct and I will fix it.

After spending a little more time talking to Alyssa and her father, Keith decided it was time to continue his daily search. He thanked them for the small meal of Pumpkin soup, paid them, and quickly went outside to call Aka again. He once again ran and jumped off the bridge, whistling and letting himself be caught by Aka. "No one saw her, Aka. I'm sorry." He said softly, stroking his Loftwing's feathers and letting her take them higher, gliding towards the cluster of islands further to the east of the Pumpkin landing, like Beetle's island. She trilled softly, making small clicking noises as she lowered her head for a moment.  Keith continued to pet her, losing himself in his thoughts of where else they could look for Kuro since they had already checked every single island around Skyloft 100 times over.

" _ **Keith**_...." A voice whispered across the breeze, making Keith tense. He knew that voice. He pulled back on Aka's collar, holding on with one hand as he looked all around him.

"Shiro?!" He called, seeing no one anywhere near him, or anyone's Loftwing.

" _ **Keith... Help us..."**_

"Shiro!" Keith shouted again, desperation leaking into his voice and heart. He knew it was Shiro. It had to be. His heart thudded painfully in his chest, and Aka flapped her wings, crying out and trying to calm Keith through their connection. "Shiro, where are you?!" He called, receiving no answer. "Shiro!"

No one responded, the sky suddenly feeling more suffocating than it had in months. Keith felt his eyes sting, grit his teeth and tightened his hold on Aka's collar. She trilled, worried, and he tried to stop his sudden shaking. "Didn't you hear him, Aka? He was here. He was talking to me. Asking for help." He said, voice a whisper. Aka turned her head, attempting to look at him, before trilling once more and turning back towards Skyloft. The bell on the Harrison's roof began to ring, and Keith was suddenly reminded what day it was. The Wing Ceremony was today, which meant someone was going to become a full fledged Knight if they managed to grab a small bird statue from the Headmaster's Loftwing and thus proving their strong connection and teamwork with their Loftwing.

Keith pulled back a little on Aka's collar, telling her to stop once more. She trilled in annoyance, but listened to his request, and from this distance, he watched as Lance, Pidge Gunderson, Hunk Garrett, and Evergreen Walters competed for the statue.   They chased the golden yellow Loftwing at a surprising speed Keith forgot those four had, but somehow, he _knew_ which trainee would win this year. Sure enough, Evergreen Walters managed to grab the statue, her extra year of experience and bonding time with her Loftwing ultimately trumping the other trainees' growing bonds. From here, Keith could see how upset Lance was on his sapphire blue Loftwing, and how Pidge and Hunk pet their own rare-colored Loftwings, trying to tell them that they'll do better next time.

Aka let out a small cry, shaking her head, before swooping back down to the wooden walkway leading to Keith's home, carefully flapping her wings so that her wings didn't hit the walkway and he could get off. She flew off after he was safely on the ground, and while he knew she wanted him to rest, he didn't want to stay cooped up in his house when Shiro was out there somewhere, calling for him. He went back to the top of Skyloft, making sure no one saw him leave the shed. He once again stayed away from the academy, instead heading towards the residential area to ask the stay at home parents if they had seen anything. He rushed over to the group of women standing there and asked them if they had seen any sign of Kuro or Shiro somewhere in the skies. All of them gave him pitying looks, saying that no, they hadn't seen either of them, with their mouths while their eyes said _why do you keep hurting yourself like this? Why do you keep searching for a dead man?_

Keith went on his way, towards the waterfall that he still couldn't find the actual source of because the spring that spilled into the lake was floating in mid-air just like the rest, and he looked around for any sign of someone being there. He looked into the crystal clear lake when he walked to it, seeing a haggard version of himself that had dark circles under his eyes and an, admittedly slightly crazy, bright look in his eyes. He took a deep breath and knelt down, cupping the cold water into his hands and splashing it onto his face, scrubbing it with his hands before doing it again.

When Keith moved his hands away from his face and opened his eyes he screamed, tumbling back from the waters edge when he very clearly saw Shiro starting behind him and watching him. He looked behind himself, seeing no one there, and slowly made his way back to the waters edge, seeing nothing there as well. He blinked; once, twice.

Shiro did not return. Keith sat back and tugged Shiro's vest around himself, pulling it tight and bunching it in his hands, over his heart. He stared at the water, felt like the waterfall was louder and yet quieter than it used to be, heard something _calling_ to him-

He felt Aka's concern in the back of his head, snapping himself out of his daze, and he steadied himself, taking a few deep breaths. "I'm okay..." He murmured breathlessly. The way his heart was pounding in his chest told him otherwise, but he figured it was a hallucination caused by lack of sleep and nightmares.

He stood after a moment, kept Shiro's vest tight around him, and without much thought, made his way to the Goddess statue.

Keith paused outside the entrance, hearing the voices of people he did not want to come across now. He could even see them from where he stood. Aka called to him, and he looked to the sky, watching as she flew near Lance's Azul, Pidge's Prasinus, and Hunk's Lega. He blinked, felt that strange dulling _pull_ again, and when he looked back down felt his heart nearly stop.

Shiro stood in front of them, flanked on either side by a mechanical creature Keith remembers learning about when he was young, in stories of the surface.

 _Lions,_ he reminds himself. The one on Shiro's right was bigger than the other, the color of its coating a dark abysmal black. The one on Shiro's left was smaller, a bright Colorado red, and it purred when he looked at it, stepping forward and nearly smiling.

 _ **"Keith... Sweet, sweet Keith**_...." The red lion purred, and Keith stared, frozen, seeing no movement of the lion's jaw or lips. Everything around him echoed; bounced around in his head painfully before suddenly dulling and sounding fuzzy, except for the lion.

"S-Shiro..." Keith said, wincing at the loudness of his own voice even though he barely had the energy to say his name properly.

Shiro stared blankly, no recognition in his eyes. He looked different than he had a year ago. His hair now had a shock of white in the front, a scar cut across the bridge of his nose. His left arm was replaced with metal. He looked much older than he should.

Keith bit his lip, hesitating a moment before stepping forward. Shiro turned, pointing towards the Goddess statue. Keith looked from the statue to Shiro and the lions, but after the red one purred again, the pull shattered.

He covered his ears at the sudden rush of pure, not fuzzy sound, dizzy from the change and leaning against the wall of the statue entrance. He panted softly, his heart pounding much harder than it should be and his head _hurt_ from the strange hallucinations. He stayed there, trying to regain his bearings and remember how to calm himself so that his chest could stop aching so terribly.

"...Keith?" Keith's head shot up at the sound of his voice, and his eyes widened when he saw Hunk there in front of him, the bigger male looking down at him with kind and worried eyes. "Are you okay? I heard a shout come from over here."

Keith felt his pulse quicken again, and he launched himself away from the support of the wall, dancing around Hunk and starting down towards the base of the steps. "I-I'm fine, Hunk! I just- I have to go!" He did not wait for an answer, and was soon sprinting back go his home, leaving a confused and worried Hunk in his wake.

When he reached his safe haven, his home, once again, he immediately went into the bathroom and filled the sink with cold water before sticking his face in for a few minutes, gasping and shaking his head like a dog when he came up for breath.

He continued to pant as he looked in the mirror, relieved to see no Shiro or mechanical lions there. He took in his appearance once again, and decided that he was going to spend the rest of the day sleeping.

_Keith was running._

_From what, he wasn't sure, but he knew that if he stopped it would mean the end. His lungs burned, his hair clung to his forehead with sweat. Purple halls of amethyst and obsidian polished stone crowded his vision, his left hand gripping someone's wrist as tightly as he could._

_"Come on!" He found himself speaking, voice cracking as fear lurched in his stomach. "Come on, we're almost there!"_

_A dark laugh rose around him, the wrist in his hand turned to ash._

_"Takashi!" He cried, turning around to see a body frozen, made of ash, with a missing hand just inches behind Keith. He looked nearly identical to Shiro, although his hair was longer and his eyes a bit rounder, his clothes some sort of fancy garb that was similar to a robe or a tunic. Keith's heart hurt worse than before; splitting and cracking even as he turned back around, ignoring the fear and telling himself he had to keep going or else he too would be destroyed._

_" **My foolish Kitharas. You really thought you could escape with that snot-nosed Godling of yours**?" A menacing voice echoed around him, the flick of defiance he didn't know was in him disappearing as the shadow of a monster reared its ugly head._

_Keith shouted as the floor gave way beneath him, his shout mixing in with the roar of the monster._

_He fell into something with a splash, resurfacing moments later and coughing out whatever had entered his lungs. He scrambled for purchase, long, long claws digging into soft earth and pulling him up onto the bare land surround by the sea of glowing gold and purple._

_" **My dearest Red Paladin... Please, you must awaken. It is time, Keith.... Awaken, Paladin, and follow me to where you must go."** The red lion from before appears once again, floating high above Keith with the ball of light behind it._

_"Where's Shiro?!" He asked, only to receive no answer as he the lion and light disappeared, another ash statue in front of him, face contorted into a yell of some sort. This one was unmistakably Shiro. Keith's heart lurched, and he reached for the statue, eyes watering as it crumbled beneath the graze of his fingers. "No...! No, Shiro!"_

"Shiro!" Keith shouted, sitting up in his bed. He looked around wildly, panting and shaking as the nightmare ran though his head over and over.

" _ **Keith....**_ " He gasped at the sound of Shiro's voice and scrambled out of his bed, tripping over a small stack of books beside it.

He hissed in pain, but ran out of the room anyway, pulling on his shoes before leaving his home. "Shiro?" He asked softly, the moon illuminating a faint path along the walkway. His heart calmed slightly when he saw Shiro ahead of him, the one before he went missing, smiling at him gently. Only the Red Lion flanked his side now. They were both glowing slightly in the darkness.

Shiro and the lion turned, heading away from Keith's home and towards the top of Skyloft. Panic filled Keith's veins. "Wait! Don't go!"

He ran after them, feeling that pull once again as he came out of the shed. Shiro and the lion stood further away now, patiently waiting. He ran towards them, and they started floating a few inches off the ground, leading him somewhere. "Shiro!" He called, but the only response he got was a small turn of the head and a gentle smile that calmed his nerves.

 Keith ran through the plaza, dodging the cats that roamed around at night, and followed the pair as close as he could. He was so focused, he didn't remember to avoid Garrison like he normally did, cutting straight across the grounds and launching himself up the small ledge where a bird statue lay. He jumped across the small gap to the upper levels of the Garrison and the town, making a sharp right before making a sharp left to go up the stairs to the goddess statue.

"Shiro, wait! Please!" He begged, scrambling down a cliff side beside the walls around the statue. Shiro and the lion didn't slow down or speak, only stopping and looking behind themselves to see if Keith was still following. He jumped over a gap, scrambling to pull himself up when he miscalculated the distance. He growled in frustration when Sharp when around the corner, and he was forced to hang onto a ledge and slowly work his way around the corner. "Would you stop?!" He snapped, stomping his foot on the ground in frustration when he was on the ground again. Shiro kept going with the lion, who purred and motioned for Keith to follow. He huffed and ran down the hill, following him up to the top of the next before jumping the gap to the next small island.

He was panting now, from all the climbing and running he was doing. He jumped off that small island and grabbed onto the vines of the one in front of him, resting for a moment before climbing up to the top. "Where are we going?"

He followed Shiro and the lion, following them around the side of the Goddess statue's base to the "V" symbol on one of the plainer stones. The pull, the _call_ was stronger now, more than ever. "The Goddess statue...? Why are we here, Shiro?" He asked again, wiping the thin sheen of sweat from his forehead. Shiro smiled kindly, turning to place his hand on the symbol before slowly starting to turn into a violet light.

" _ **I'll** **be**_ _**waiting**_ _**for**_ _**you**_ , **_Keith_**." He said, voice echoing as he disappeared into the violet light.

"Shiro!"

Keith tensed as the symbol glowed as the lion roared, turning into a brilliant crimson light as it jumped into the wall. The stone disappeared, leaving an entrance in its wake.


	3. Chapter 3

Keith hesitated in front of the entrance into the statue, unsure if he should enter, but the moment he heard shouting behind him he wasted no time. He went into the statue, gasping at the sheer size of the inside. It was a large, circular room with hieroglyphs engraved in the stone, rows of lit flame pillars standing proudly on either side of the room to lighten the room. On the far wall there was a rather plain slab of stone, the only decoration being a large "V", much like the entrance to the room. in the center of the room, stood a pedestal with a red and white object laying in the center. He heard the lion purr deep in his mind, urging him forward. He stepped closer to the pedestal. As he stepped closer, a bright red light flashed from the object, and the Red Lion appeared, looking happy.  

" **Keith!** " The lioness cried, bounding over and circling him. " ** _It's about time you got here! I've been waiting for_ years _!"_**

"What are you?" Keith asked, frowning as he lifted his arms to watch the strange mechanical lion circle him. 

" _She is a part of me. The one that resonated with your soul, as it has millenia after millenia."_ Another voice said, and the ball of white light with other colors appeared, forming a mechanical body made of lions but looking human. Keith's hand flew to his knife, fingers brushing against the familiarity of the hilt.

"Who are you?! What'd you do with Shiro?" Keith accused, and the deep feminine voice from the body chuckled.

" _I am Voltron._ " It said, turning towards the ethereal lioness pressing against Keith's side and motioning towards it with its red arm. " _She is Red. The one who stands for instincts and fearlessness. The lionhearted hero. That is you, Keith. She resonated with you at birth, and has been waiting for the day your destiny begins._ "

"What are you talking about?!" He asked, and Red nudged him.

" _ **Calm down, kitten. Voltron will explain.**_ "The red lioness said, small humor in her voice with an underlying current of sorrow. It did nothing to help Keith calm down, but he fell silent to let the other ethereal being talk. 

" _I am Voltron, a guardian spirit to help aid you and four others in fulfilling the burden of this destiny that only two of you will truly have to carry. Y_ _ou, Keith, play a great role in a large destiny. Your friend, Shiro, plays a part just as large as yours. He is aided by Black. The one who stands for a born leader; someone calm and collected in the face of danger. He, too, has resonated with Black since he was but a child."_

"Do you know where he is?" Keith asked softly after a moment, and Voltron fell silent. While the outward appearance showed no changes, Keith could _feel_ the pity in its gaze. He gulped, taking a shaky breath. "Is-Is he okay?"

_"He is.... Alright. The past year has been tough on the young knight. The surface is a dangerous place filled with unimaginable monsters that the people living here haven't had to deal with for centuries, and I'm afraid its put a large strain on his body."_

Immediately, Keith thought of the Shiro he had seen earlier that day- the shock of white hair, the scar across the bridge of his nose. a stone lodged in his throat when he remembered the empty look in his eyes, and suddenly he was very afraid of whatever Voltron might have to say next.

 _"However, young Shiro has been captured. He let down his guard, and now he faces dire consequences. He needs your help, Keith. He won't be able to do this alone._ "Voltron turned to the object on the pedestal, its right arm lifting and motioning towards it. _"Take your bayard, my young Paladin, if you desire to save your fated."_

Keith nearly felt offended by the insinuation that this thing thought he _wouldn't_ help Shiro, and stepped forward. "Of co-"

"No! No, no, nononono! _I'm_ the one saving Shiro!" Keith's jaw snapped shut with a small click as he nearly jumped from surprise, a scowl immediately taking over his features. _Of course_ , Lance McClain and his friends followed him here. Why wasn't he surprised? Can't Keith just have _one_ thing all to himself? He turned, glaring at the three teenagers standing in the entryway, although Pidge and Hunk had the decency to look sheepish.

"Uh... Lance? The big floating mechanical thing just said that Keith's the one who's supposed to do it." Hunk said nervously, but Lance marched forward, brushing past Keith just enough he shoved him to the side a little.

"This Voltron thing doesn't even know what its talking about! _I'm_ the one who deserves the big destiny since I'm better than- What the _what_?!" As Lance reached for the bayard while he spoke, Red launched herself from her calm position next to Keith, crouching low between Laance's hand and the bayard while growling menacingly at the taller boy. She snapped at his hand, causing him to yank it back with a shout.

" _ **Don't you dare touch Keith's bayard, you sniveling brat!**_ " She snarled, to which Lance gave a very offended look and opened his mouth to respond to, when Voltron spoke again.

 _"Red, that is enough. He will not take Keith's bayard."_   Voltron looked to Keith again, motioning to the bayard once more. _"You want to take it, yes? Go on, no one will take this from you."_ Keith couldn't stop himself from tensing, eyes widening slightly at the motherly tone in this creature's voice. It was strange, hearing something genuinely, ultimately are about Keith's decision, and suddenly he found it made him feel vulnerable. Lance was glaring at him while Pidge and Hunk stayed silent as they watched, and this type of silence, filled with baited breath, was foreign to him. This type of silence was deafening, but he told himself to suck it up. He was better than this- he had handled so much worse. He steeled himself, taking a deep breath, and walked forward with purposeful strides.

He walked up to the bayard and picked it up, watching with a small amount of surprise as a glowing red light came from it and formed it into a sword. He smiled, giving it an experimental swing, and Red purred as she too was engulfed by a red light, only for it to disappear a moment later. Everyone in the room gasped, noticing that she seemed so much more _real_ and was touching the ground. Red hummed, pleased, and bounded over to Keith wrapping herself around him. She went up to his hip.

Voltron bowed its head, smiling even though it was not visible. " _Keith Kogane, I welcome you as the Red Paladin of Voltron, and as the Lionhearted Hero."_

"That is not fair! Why does _Keith_ get to go on this big adventure with Shiro?!" Lance shouted, pointing accusingly at Keith. Keith glared at Lance, crossing his arms over his chest after slipping the bayard onto his belt.

"Stop being such a brat!" He snapped, honestly too tired to deal with this right now.

Voltron chuckled, drawing everyone's attention to it. It motioned towards Pidge and Hunk, and when they walked closer, it spoke. _"Worry not, Lance, for you and your friends Pidge and Hunk are going on it as well."_

"WHAT?!" Everyone shouted in surprise, although Keith and Lance had malice in theirs. The humans could _feel_ Voltron's smile.

_"Yes, that's right. You three are also destined to be apart of this. The only difference is that Keith and Shiro hold bigger parts than you do."_

"What do you mean?" Pidge asked, adjusting her glasses as she stepped closer to the ethereal figure.  "I mean, we just followed Keith here. You sent for him by... some sort of means."

Voltron chuckled once again. _"Let me tell you all a story...."_


	4. Chapter 4

_"A long, long time ago- before Skyloft was created- there was a war of unmatched scale and ferocity. One dark, fateful day, the earth cracked wide open and beings known as Galra rushed from the fissure, led by a malevolent Galran named Zarkon. He mounted a brutal assault upon the surface dwellers, driving the land deep into despair with each people conquered.... The Galra burnt forests to ash, choked the land's sweet springs, and murdered or enslaved without hesitation. Zarkon and most Galrans did this all in their lust for ultimate power- to be the dominant species and rule the world by taking hold of my physical form. Her Grace, the Goddess, rose up with the surface dwellers and those of the Galrans that did not believe in Zarkon's rule._

_"To prevent me from falling into the hands of the evil swarming the lands, the Goddess split me into five and turned each part into a bayard, which transformed into whatever weapon the wielder was most comfortable with, then gathered the surviving humans on an outcropping of earth. She sent it skyward, beyond Zarkon's reach. Beyond even the clouds. With the humans safe, the Goddess chose five champions of the remaining land dwellers to protect a part of me; A Godling to wield Black because of his leadership skills, the second Prince of the Galra to wield Red, for his amazing instincts, a Zora to wield Blue because of her passion and trust, an Olkari to wield Green for her knowledge, and finally a Balmeran to wield Yellow because of the overwhelming kindness in their heart. The champions worked beside the land dwellers and Goddess to seal away Zarkon and the bad Galrans. At last, peace returned to the surface."_

"Are you sure you didn't get confused though?" Hunk asked in a nervous but helpful voice, "Because I know about that story. My mom used to tell it to us at bedtime, and we learn about it in history at Garrison. We never heard about you or these chosen before."

"Yeah, but don't forget, Hunk, that things get lost in oral passings or translations." Pidge reminded him gently, before looking back at Voltron. Lance huffed, crossing his chest.

"I don't get why any of us tie into this, or why Keith and Shiro get the bigger role!"

Voltron's presence grew sad, and even Red's robotic ears flatted to her head. _"I'm afraid Zarkon is not dead, merely sealed away. The Goddess left these words as the start of your journey: When the light of the Red Paladin's shines bright, the great apocalypse will wake from its long slumber."_

"Doesn't that mean Keith just caused it?!" Lance snapped, a long arm swinging wildly in the noiret's direction. Keith's gaze had fallen to the floor about halfway through Voltron's story, his mind reeling as it tried to catch up with it. Was Zarkon the monster that had been plaguing his sleep? And what about the strange dream he had only hours- no- _minutes_ ago? Was that from the past?

" ** _Keith didn't do it!_ " **Red defended, growling at Lance. Lance stepped away after a moment, and Red looked incredibly smug.

_"I will not tell you of the previous Paladins' history. Why the Red Paladin and the Black Paladin carry the heaviest of the burden is something you must learn for yourself. Besides, young Lance, I would not wish their roles upon even Zarkon. They are the ones who bear the burden, and they are the ones that you three must help, for they cannot do it alone._

_"You four must go to the surface and reunite with Shiro, for he is waiting, then you must set out to find the other bayards."_

"Wait, but the cloud barrier prevents us from going down there!" Pidge said, and Red laughed.

" ** _Don't tell me you think the Goddess was stupid enough to forget about that detail._** " The lion said almost cockily, before opening her maw. It glowed red, forming a stone tablet with a small green gem in the top left corner. **_"Keith, take this stone tablet and place it in the altar behind Voltron. It'll illuminate and create a path to the surface."_** Red made the tablet float to Keith, who caught it as he snapped out of his thoughts. **_"The first thing you need to do is hit the crest with a skyward strike: a blast of energy that charges in your blade when you lift it skyward._** "

"So... Like this...?" Keith asked, unhooking his bayard and holding the formed sword up to the sky. It glowed a bright red from the tip to the hilt, and when Keith brought it down in a slash towards the darkened "V" crest on the back wall, a spinning disc of bright red energy shot from the blade, hitting its mark and making that glow a bright red. before becoming a rainbow of opalescent colors. The group of humans let out surprised and awed sounds, watching as a pillar rose from the ground with a square hole to place the tablets. Keith walked over and inserted the tablet into the bottom right corner, finding it fit perfectly. After a moment, Voltron and Red looked pleased.

_"Good. your first entry way to the surface and to Shiro is now open. I must stay here, but Red will follow and guide you through the surface in any way she can. She's even capable of fighting, now that she has a physical form."_

**_"I can still, fly, too! So we can fly around up here and stuff without worry."_** Red assured, before glancing towards the others as well as her chosen. **_"We'll find your lions, don't worry!"_**

"Um, do we have a say in this...?" Hunk asked nervously, and Voltron's presence turned sympathetic.

_"I'm afraid not, Hunk."_

Hunk sighed, wilting slightly. "I was afraid of that..." He murmured, before straightening and smiling. "Well, I'll do it! If it means saving lives, then it's worth it. Pidge, Lance, are you guys in?"

"Of course! There's so much to explore on the surface, and this is the only chance I'll ever get!" Pidge said, grinning and adjusting her glasses.

Everyone looked to Lance, who was still pouting about Keith being more important. He sighed, shaking his head at his friends in an exasperated manner. "Did you guys seriously expect me to say no? I wanted to become a knight for a reason, didn't I? This is even better than that! More dangerous, sure, but, I mean, come on! I'm gonna be a hero, and get to explore places no one's been to in years!"

 _"Good. everyone wants to be a part of this, then. I'm afraid you'll have to deal with little armor for now, but worry about that tomorrow. Today's dawn is approaching, and although your mission is important, I've kept you up most of the night. Get some rest and prepare for your journey."_ With that, Voltron disappeared, and Red began to leave the room. Keith followed Red closely, still looking like he needed to process what was happening. Hunk and Pidge let him past, stopping Lance from stopping him. 

"You can yell at him or whatever you want to do _later,_ " Pidge hissed, and inwardly Keith was grateful, "But right now, all of us need to take in this information, and figure out a plan."

"Oh, that's right!" Keith felt the warmth of a hand hover over his shoulder when he was halfway to the steps, not touching but there to grab his attention. He turned to see Hunk, smiling slightly. "Keith, meet us in the town square when you're ready to go. Pidge and I will make sure Lance doesn't do something stupid, or leave before you. Promise." His smile became friendly, and prompted a weak smile from Keith and a welcoming purr from Red.

"Sure thing, Hunk. Um... I'll see you guys later, I- I need to get some sleep or something." Keith looked hesitantly back towards Red and the rest of the town, and Hunk removed his hand, signaling that it was alright for him to leave.

"Yeah, of course. We'll see you later." Hunk confirmed, nodding before heading back to Pidge and Lance. Once more, Keith started down the hill, skirting around the Headmaster of Garrison academy when he saw a beaming smile on the man's face. He had bittersweet memories of the man; while he had welcomed Keith to the academy with open arms and known he would be a good student, Instructor Iverson had his finger wrapped around him and had influenced Keith's expulsion after Shiro fell to the surface.

**_"Keith."_ **

Keith's attention snapped to Red, who was now standing in front of him and radiating a small bit of confusion. **_"Do you not wish to let the Headmaster know about you being the Red Paladin? He has been waiting and watching for this day."_**

"I just want to sleep right now, to be honest, Red." Keith said softly with a smile. "Won't the other three and Voltron be enough to fill him in on the details?"

 ** _"I suppose you are right, kitten."_  **Red said with a small sigh, bounding ahead towards the shed. Keith rushed after her, and he descended the ladder while Red simply jumped. He opened the door to his home for Red, and she studied the house before walking to his bed and jumping onto it, curling up at the foot of the bed. 

"You're... Just a big mechanical cat, aren't you?" Keith said, amused, and Red huffed, lifting her head with dignity. 

 ** _"Yes, I am. That is what a lion is, Keith. A big cat. Now get your butt over here, you need proper sleep."_  **She said dryly, tail flicking indignantly. Keith rolled his eyes, but after removing his shoes, settled himself in his bed again. He was too tired to bother taking off his clothes from the day before, and Shiro's lingering scent of the vest calmed him enough to relax. He could feel the shift in weight in the bed that happened because of Red. Oddly enough, it was comforting. He sighed, pulling the blankets up to his chin, and slipped into sleep.

When Keith next awoke, the sun was high in the sky, and Aka's head was sticking through the open window for her once more, staring at Red. Red stared right back.

Aka trilled, her head cocking to the side. Red's tail twitched, but she didn't seem irritated. **_"Hello. I'm Red, Keith's companion for when he's on land. You are?"_**

"Her name is Aka." Keith said softly, and both animal's heads turned towards him, surprised, before both expressing their happiness at his awakening. 

 ** _"Oh! Good morning, Keith! I thought you would sleep into the early afternoon."_** Red said, bounding over and nuzzling his legs. **_"I was just about to acquaint myself better with Aka here, since she will be your main companion in the sky and I will be your companion on the ground. She's a lovely girl, from what I've seen from my years of watching you grow up."_**

"I'm glad you two can get along, then." Keith said softly, running a hand down Red's back while the other scratched beneath Aka's beak. "Are you hungry, Red? Aka goes off to get her own food, but I don't even know if you eat."

 ** _"I'm alright! I don't need to eat, since I'm simply a spirit with a physical form. You, on the other hand, have had nothing since yesterday morning. Either make yourself something to eat, or go to Pumpkin Landing and get something to fill your stomach."_** Red pushed on the back of Keith's legs, surprising him, and he barely had time to grab his knife before begin shoved rather ungracefully out of his home by the mechanical lion, Aka letting out a cry and following soon after. 

"But I'm not hungry, and Shiro's waiting for-"

Red growled softly, but the point got across and Keith sighed, nodding. "Alright, fine. _Maybe_ I'm a _little_ hungry." He said, following Red to the wooden ledge pathway before jumping off. After a few moments of falling, he called for Aka, watching as she dove down and leveled out beneath him. He landed on her back with a small grunt, running his hands through her feathers as he watched Red jump from the edge and fall a few feet before hovering and flying over to him. "Wow, you really can fly." He said softly, and he could tell Red was grinning, even though her face held no actual emotion.

**_"Of course! Now, come on, let's get you food."_ **

 Aka cried in agreement, flying towards the Pumpkin Landing with ease. Keith leaned back, glancing towards the glowing pillar of green light that was a safe distance from the town square, but very clear to see. "It's... Pretty." He said after a moment, brows furrowing. "No one is going to try and jump through the gap in the clouds, will they?"

**_"I'm sure the Garrison will keep them from doing something stupid. The knights know it isn't safe."_ **

"And yet four teenagers are going down there will little to no protection, only one of which actually has a weapon." Keith pointed out in a bitter tone, crossing his arms over his chest.

If Red had irises and pupils, she would have rolled her eyes. **_"Keith, the Garrison will not send three of their best soon-to-be knights down into a dangerous place with no protection or means to attack. The sparring hall will give them something, I'm sure."_**

"I have never seen any of those three with weapons- when I was in the Garrison, they didn't even go into the sparring hall!"

Red seemed to ponder this as Aka circled the floating island, waiting for Keith to drop off. **_"You_ were _in there quite a lot. Lance doesn't seem to enjoy your presence, so... maybe they only went when you weren't there. Wasn't Lance the second best after you?"_**

Keith sighed, letting his weight fall to the side so he slipped off Aka's back. His Loftwing flew off after watching him twist around, and he fell towards the front of the building with ease. Red followed, and he used his sail cloth to land safely on the ground. "I don't remember." He grumbled, walking towards the door. "I didn't care about any of that to begin with. I just wanted more freedom that comes with being a knight, and a place with food and bed. Just because I have a stronger bond with Aka than he does with Azul shouldn't mean anything or cause him to declare us rivals."

_**"I believe he felt you just breezed through everything he had to work hard to do."** _

Keith sighed again, holding his head in his hands and stopping outside the door. "Why do you know so much?" He asked, looking at Red after a moment.

 _**"I chose you to be my Paladin at birth. I've watched you your whole life, as well as the other chosen. We aren't sure** _ **who's _chosen they are, but we know they are in fact chosen."_**

Keith fell silent at her words, looking down and biting his lip. Red was that certain he was her Paladin? She was certain enough to choose him at birth? That felt odd to Keith- the only thing he was truly certain on was that Shiro was everything to him, and he would do anything to help him. But he could never shake the feeling that something was different about himself than the others around him, and at some point, he had just started second guessing almost every decision he had started to make. He was afraid to be certain of himself, and to do what he really felt was right. He focused back on Red when she nudged his leg, purring softly.

 _**"Come, Keith. Let's go inside."** _ She said, and Keith nodded, opening the door and immediately frowning. He couldn't win today, could he?

"Keith!" Pidge shouted from the balcony when he walked further in, The small girl bounded down from the balcony where Lance and Hunk were, Lance rambling loudly about something. "Hey, it's nice to see you're up! Hunk has something for you, courtesy of Headmaster Sokolov." Pidge said, smiling up at him. Pidge was the youngest of the four, still needing to go through her final growth spurt, and even though she currently reached somewhere around his shoulder, he imagined she wouldn't get much higher. Keith was already shorter than most of the other boys his age. She was also a close friend of his, thanks to Shiro. Turns out, they had a lot in common, even though she chose to hang out with Lance and Hunk while he preferred solitude most days. With a small ache in his heart, he realized those days were most likely over.

He looked from Pidge to the boisterous duo, then back towards Alyssa and Terrance.

"If you promise not to let your sharp tongue grate on Lance's nerves enough to start a fight, I see no problem with you joining them." Alyssa said, looking to her father for confirmation. He nodded, smiling and motioning towards the group. Keith sent them a small smile, and turned back to Pidge.

"I'll stay for a little bit, but let me get some food first. Red's determined." He said, looking towards where his guardian had been and panicking when he saw her walking towards the bar. He waved bye to Pidge, who simply laughed at Alyssa and Terrance's expressions as Red asked for one serving of Pumpkin Stew for Keith, and he rushed to the bar.

"What's this?" Alyssa asked, and Keith laughed nervously.

"Um, it's a long story."

"Does it have to do with what Lance was spouting off earlier? Something about you being chosen and getting a super cool guardian?" Terrance asked, already adding some of the stew into a bowl for Keith. The person in question nodded, looking to Red.

"Yeah, uh, basically she's my guardian now and I'm apparently going to help stop the apocalypse..?"

"So the things Headmaster Sokolov were spouting this morning were true!" Alyssa gasped, as Red went around behind the counter for Terrance to place the bowl of stew on her head so that she could carry it towards the rest of the chosen. Keith nodded meekly, although he had no idea what she was talking about.

"I... would assume so, yes. I didn't hear his speech."

"I thought he had just gone crazy, but then again, today has been filled with crazy things- you saw the green light breaking the cloud barrier, right?"

Keith nodded, rubbing the back of his neck as his eyes followed Red while she went up to the balcony. He winced as Lance let out a surprised cry of possible outrage, and a moment later he was standing at the edge of the balcony, frowning down at him. Keith sighed, looking to Alyssa and Terrance. "Hey, um, you might not see me for a while after this, or those three. I don't expect us to come back nightly, to be honest. But when we come back, we'll have Shiro!" He said the last part much more hopefully and excitedly that he meant to, and he quickly looked away. "So, um, thank you for letting us hang out here for a bit, although I personally won't be staying long." He quickly paid for the stew, and went darting towards the steps before Alyssa or her father could blink.

He walked up the second half of the stairs much more slowly, nervousness causing butterflies in his stomach and effectively crushing any hunger he had felt before entering the establishment. Pidge and the others were the only ones here right now, and Red was patiently waiting for Keith, growling at Lance whenever he got too close. Lance continued to look rather offended that Red chose Keith.

"Lance, seriously, bud. Knock it off already. You'll get your own cool lion at some point." Hunk said with a sigh, already tired with his friend's antics, which Keith hadn't known possible. Next to Hunk was a bag, and Keith had a feeling whatever Hunk was supposed to give him, it was in there. When Hunk saw him, his face lit up, and he grinned. Keith returned it with his own, admittedly weak, smile as he sat down between Pidge and Red.

"Morning, Keith!"

"Hey, mullet head." Lance grumbled bitterly, pointedly looking away as he ate his own food.

"Hey Hunk, Lance." Keith said with a small nod. Hunk's smile diminished slightly from the lack of emotion that normally would have accompanied his words, but Keith couldn't find it in himself to _care_ at that moment. His mind kept flitting back to this entire journey, and he stared at his food with continuously growing distaste.

He could feel Red staring at him, and she shuffled closer, pressing her body against his. He felt a little comfort, but it did nothing to bring the small bit of appetite he had back. Hunk continued to talk after a moment, reaching for the bag beside him.

"Hey, so you would not believe what Headmaster Sokolov made for us!" He handed Keith the bag, and after a hesitant moment he opened it, his eyes widening at the contents.

Inside lay a wooden shield, tucked carefully above a rich garnet red and black outfit, chainmail clinking lightly as he adjusted his grip on the bag. The outfit was similar to the clothes he currently wore. He looked at Hunk, and the larger man smiled happily. "The three of us have our own outfits and shield as well, but they are all black and gray. He said he's change them to whatever color we end up being. We've also got weapons."

"He... made four outfits in the span of mere hours?"

"Technically, he only had three made." Lance threw in bitterly, "He's had yours made for over a year now- back when you were still in the academy. Apparently, he was certain you would win the Wing Ceremony that year, had you not gotten yourself expelled."

Keith blinked, staring at the lanky boy. " _Seriously_ _?_ _"_ Pidge nodded, smiling apologetically at Lance.

"Yeah. You really impressed him that year, although Iverson had to go and screw up everyone's hopes that year after Shiro and the Holts disappeared." Hunk explained, rolling his eyes slightly as a fond smile stretched across his lips. "Well, _almost_ everyone." He said, looking pointedly at Lance.

"Hey! I was happy to finally be top of the class!"

Keith blocked out their conversation, for the most part, as Red nudged him again in an attempt to make him eat. He knew he had to if he wanted to survive on this journey to the surface, and he knew that the stew wouldn't stay a nice temperature much longer, so he forced himself to eat the stew even though he really didn't want to. Red purred, pleased, and Pidge seemed to relax a bit more next to him.

"So, I was thinking we should leave in an hour." Pidge said, hands waving in the air slightly as she spoke. "That way, we'll have plenty of daylight to search and gather our bearings before nightfall." She looked to Keith. "The three of us are basically ready- we'd just have to change and we're good. How about you, Keith? You think you'll be ready in an hour?"

Keith nodded, looking to her and smiling. "Yeah, I'll be ready in an hour. I just need to pick up a potion or two and make one last round around Skyloft for Kuro."

Pidge nodded, smiling, although it nearly disappeared when Lance let out a small scoff.

"Kuro's been missing for a year, Keith. She's probably never coming back."

Keith glared at Lance. "Shiro is down on the surface and still alive- Kuro's still connected to him, and if he's till alive, then she must be hiding somewhere, waiting for him. Saying that Kuro is never coming back, is the same as saying Shiro's never coming back." Keith stood, now, Red following his lead. He looked at Lance, his lips pulling back slightly into a snarl. "Or do you think we're about to do this journey for nothing?"

He didn't wait for a response, turning and rushing down the steps. He knew he was probably a little harsh on Lance, but his nerves had been shot for days now, and now he was so close to finding Shiro. He was so close, and yet nothing would be able to return to normal. This situation scared him more than he was ever willing to let on, and Lance's skepticism was not helping- especially since it hit a little too close to home.

What if Lance was right? What if Kuro never came back?

To Keith, that was as good as openly saying that Shiro really was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The mermaid-like species from Voltron season 2 will be referred to as Zoras in this fic until further notice of what their species is really called (I highly doubt it to be mermaids, but who knows).
> 
> I severely apologize for my Lance. I am not good with acting mean to people, and that includes Lance's snapping at Keith and his annoyance of the boy in the early episodes of the show. If someone would like to help me write Lance (and maybe other characters), I'd adore the help! Unless you guys think it's fine, in which case yay! Also, Keith's moods are kind of based of mine (not at the current moment, but how I handle those kinds of situations or ones similar to them), so sorry if they seem to swing around a lot.


	5. Chapter 5

An hour later and Keith was ready to go, and he was making his way to the town square dressed in the disturbingly well made outfit, although he already missed the light breeze that the chainmail was blocking from his stomach when he was on Aka and his shirt blew around in the wind. Shiro's vest was no longer being worn, now tucked safely into his bag. He was coming back from his last check for Kuro, and he waved to Pidge and Hunk from his place on Aka, calmly letting her land in front of them before sliding off her back.

"Where's Lance?"

Pidge scoffed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest. "Last minute packing- _literally_. He found out we won't be coming back for a day or two and panicked so bad he ran back to the Garrison for his beauty supplies. He said he'd be back in a few minutes, but who knows."

Keith groaned softly, placing his head in his hands. "Does he not realize it won't matter if he brings them or not? We won't be in places he can do the routine to begin with."

"I tried to tell him." Hunk explained, smiling and shrugging in a "what can you do?" kind of way. "Either way, he'll figure it out." His expression turned sadder, though, and he reached up to rub the back of his neck. "I'm sorry about what he said earlier, by the way. He didn't mean to insinuate, well, uh, you know."

Keith tensed slightly at the reminder, before relaxing as he sighed softly and smiled slightly at Hunk. "It's alright, Hunk."

"But it's _not_ alright. He shouldn't-"

" _It's fine_." Keith stressed, and Red huffed, curling her tail around her legs.

 _" **Boys, boys, just drop it, alright? No need to start an argument about that since it's over and done with**." _ Red said softly, looking over towards the academy when she heard someone shout.

Lance was running towards them, bag slung over his shoulder and dressed similarly to Hunk and Pidge. "Alright, I'm good to go! Sorry for the delay." He grinned, panting only slightly as he skid to a stop in front of the group. Pidge crossed her arms over her chest, rolling her eyes, and Keith already started towards the wooden bridge with Red at his side.

"And _who_ was it that said he was going to be ticked off if Keith was late?" She asked knowingly, grinning as Lance's cheeks flushed. 

"Shut up, Pidge!" He hissed threateningly, before stomping after Keith, who was waiting at the edge of the bridge for the rest of the group. When they all seemed like they were following, Keith went ahead and ran before jumping, calling for Aka after a few moments. He heard the others whistle for their Loftwings, and he looked behind himself to where they were, their Loftwings catching them with ease.

"You guys ready?" He asked, earning small shouts of agreement. Red was flying around Aka, humming softly in agreement as well before bounding off towards the light. The small group followed her, circling the break in the barrier.

"Who jumps first?" Lance asked, looking at Keith from around Azul's long neck. Keith pet Aka's feathers gently, looking to Pidge and Hunk before looking at Lance again. 

"Who wants to go first? I'll go if no one else wants to."

"I'll go!" Lance said with a grin, before eagerly getting off Azul's back and falling through the opening with a small "Woo-Hoo!" Azul's flew off after watching her rider descend for a few minutes, and after glancing at Hunk, Pidge let out a sigh.

"I'll go next. See you down there!" She then jumped carefully off Prasinus' back, falling with a small laugh. Keith looked to Hunk, seeing how the bigger male suddenly looked nervous.

"You gonna be okay, big guy?" He asked after a moment, and Hunk glanced at him, laughing nervously.

"Yeah, sorry. This whole situation make me nervous, which doesn't help the nausea I get when falling. Just, uh, trying to work myself up to this a bit more." He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. Keith blinked in surprise, having forgotten about the fact falling from Lega caused Hunk's stomach to not agree with him.

"Oh. Well, I'll just wait for you to get comfortable then, if you want...." He offered nervously, not sure that would be okay and also worried about how long that might take.

Hunk took a deep breath, looking like he was steeling himself. "No, no. You go on ahead, Keith. I'll follow you guys a lot faster if you go before me."

Keith wasn't entirely sure he believed that, and he asked again, just in case. "You sure?"

"Yeah, man. Promise I won't chicken out." Hunk smiled, and after a small nudge from Red, Keith sighed and nodded.

"Alright. See you down there." Keith slipped from Aka's back, falling through the opening of the barrier and letting the wind whistle around him. He wanted to close his eyes, experience only the sensations like he did around Skyloft, but he forced himself not to. He didn't know how far away the ground was, and couldn't time it properly without having his eyes open. Quickly enough, he soon saw Pidge and Lance waiting for them on moss and grass covered stone, a black fence blocking the left side of it as well as the ledge in front of them. He saw the stone go in a path to the right, broken stone pillars and some sort of statue against the wall.

When he was close enough to the ground to stop his fall and make sure it wouldn't hurt, he brought out his sailcloth, feeling himself jerk before slowly falling the rest of the way. He stumbled forward slightly just as his feet touched the ground, pulling the sailcloth close to himself and already starting to fold it. Red purred, padding over to Keith after she landed and wrapping herself around his legs.

"Where's Hunk?" Lance asked as Keith walked over, and he shrugged a little, carefully folding the fabric before placing it in his pocket.

"Said he'd come down soon." Keith stated, pausing and looking up when he heard the faint sounds of someone screaming slowly getting louder before stopping.

"Oh, here he comes now." Pidge said with a smirk, turning around from where they were looking through the gaps in the fence to look up into the sky. Sure enough, Hunk was falling towards them quickly, and he used his sailcloth much earlier than Keith did, looking pale as he landed in front of them. 

"That was farther than I thought it would be." He said shakily, taking a few deep breaths as he worked down his nausea before looking around. "Wow, this place is prettier than I thought!"

" ** _I'm glad you like it, Hunk! This is the surface- more specifically, the Sealed Grounds. This is where Zarkon's was sealed, and Skylot was lifted into the sky."_** Red explained, motioning towards the fence and below. Pidge hummed, smiling to herself, and Lance walked over to the fence, looking down.

"It's a big spiral of ground leading to some sort of- what even is that?"

Hunk walked over to where Lance was, humming in thought. "Looks like a big chuck of rock. Obsidian, maybe?"

"It's got some sort of black smoke coming from it." Pidge assessed, turning back around, and Keith wandered over as well, looking down. He looked at the large crater the ground formed, a spiraling ledge of grass and geysers spinning its way down to a small circle of flat land, where something pitch black protruded, dark purple wisps of something coming off it in waves. Keith suppressed a shiver, feeling a menacing aura coming from it and feeling like he could heard the whispers of _something_  hiding beneath the stone.

He looked away, eyes widening as he spotted something a level or two down. "Hey, look. I think there's a temple!" He said, crouching down and grabbing one of the bars of the fence, leaning out of the opening in an attempt to see the massing stone ruins. Hunk let out a concerned sound! Saying something that Keith didn't catch as he tried to lean out even further. He was right, there was some sort of stone ruin- but the doors....

He let out a small shout when something snatched the back of his shirt and tugged him back, letting out a small 'oof' as he landed on the hard stone ground. He looked up, seeing Red over him with the collar of his shirt in her mouth. Lance was chuckling, and Red let out a small growl before dropping Keith's shirt. 

He stood up, brushing himself off and straightening his shirt.

"What was that for?"

 _" **You were too far from the edge, kitten. You need to proceed with caution, and falling from this height it most certainly not that."** _ Red huffed slightly, before sniffing at the ground anear lightly pawing at it. Keith winced slightly at the sound of her claws brushing against the stone, but no one else seemed to notice expect for the lion herself and Keith. Red looked back up at the group, giving off the feeling of her smiling. " ** _Shiro is around here, somewhere. He's nearby."_**

Keith's eyes widened, and he tensed slightly. "Really?"

Red nodded, and Keith tried not to smile as he turned towards the pathway. "Then let's go!" He said, rushing forward. The others shouted his name, trying to get him to stop, but he went anyway, not even pausing as a monster popped up from the ground in the shape of some sort of mutilated seed pod. He grabbed his bayard, arms moving almost automatically as he sliced straight through it's gaping maw while he ducked, rolling behind it. He gasped softly as it disintegrated into ash with a cry, looking up as the others once again shouted his name while Lamce knocked an arrow and immediately shot at something behind Keith. Another cry came from behind him, and Keith turned just in time to see another of the plant monsters turn to ash.

 "By the Goddess, Keith!" Pidge exclaimed, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. "That was something I expected _Lance_ to do, not you! You're lucky you have a sword and your instincts!"

"Hey!" Lance shouted indignantly. Keith laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sorry Pidge, I just- I got really excited."

" _ **That's understandable, Keith, but please remind yourself you are in unfamiliar territory, and are not alone. It's not safe to charge headfirst into everything."**_ Keith winced at the scolding, looking away and nodding. "Yeah, alright, I won't do it again...." He muttered, standing up and looking at Lance. "Thanks for stopping the other one." He said after a moment, turning around and avoiding looking at Lance as he continued forward along the path.

"Was that a compliment?! Did he just _thank_ me?!"

"Lance, buddy, old pal, I love you, but stop overreacting to every little thing Keith does, please." Hunk said softly, a small bit of pleading in his voice. Red walked alongside Keith, and when one of the next two plant monsters appeared, she lunged at one with a growl, claws cutting the stem and leaving it helpless on the ground as she nearly tore it in half. while Keith cut down the other. Pidge watched the two with interest, silently taking notes and amazed at how flawlessly he and Red seemed to work together.

When they reached the ledge to the temple, they all jumped down. Keith tensed as he landed, feeling the earth pulse beneath him. He straightened, looking around. "D-Did you feel that?"

"Feel what?" Pidge asked, right as the earth and even the air around them pulsed again. "I don't feel anything." Keith looked around still, slowly walking towards the ledge that was no longer fenced. He could feel Hunk and Lance's curious stares on his back.

"T-The earth, it just... pulsed." He murmured, looking down into the spiral, towards the black mass in the center.

"Wait, what? Keith, nothing pulsed." Hunk said, concern in his voice. Keith turned to look back at him, but a groan from below caught his attention.

 Keith let out a small sound of surprise, covering his face as the dark fog shot up from the mass, spreading around him. He looked around after lowering his hands, seeing only black and dark, dark purple. Everyone was gone, even Red.

He looked down, seeing only the dark purple and a blood red surround a circle of black that quickly started to spread. Keith gulped slightly, his heart starting to race in his chest. Where was he? What was going on?

The monster from his nightmare's appeared in the black circle, growling menacingly. Keith stared, flinching as the world around him pulsed again and his head suddenly throbbed with pain. He grunted, placing his hands on his forehead instinctively as his vision swam.

Wind howled, and when he was aware of himself again the monster rose up, towering above him. Keith once again drew his bayard, ready to attack as the thing leaded over him even more, a growl and roar escaping it as it opened it mouth and _lunged_.

Keith gasped, stumbling back a few feet, his footsteps heavy on the wood. "Keith!" Pidge called, rushing to his side and helping him stay upright as one hand clutched his chest while the other held his head.

"Dude, are you okay?!" Lance asked, rushing over as well.

"Y-You didn't see that?!" Keith gasped, looking at the others. Red looked sad and nervous, tail flicking around as she walked over and nuzzled his leg.

"That big black thing must have been Zarkon! It was huge!" Hunk shouted, nervous.

"Yeah, we saw it- but Keith, you look way wprse than any of us." Pidge said softly, Lance nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, man, what happened?"

Keith pulled himself away from Lance and Pidge, looking at them in confusion. "Your heads didn't start hurting...?" Keith asked, confusion in his voice.

They shook their heads, and Keith felt his heart lodge in his throat. Why did only he have such a serious reaction to the vision?

He stepped towards the ledge, looking down again. Something was different about the black mass. It looked... smaller. Not as concentrated. "...The purple fog stuff. It's gone."

"Huh?" Pidge gasped as she stepped over, eyes widening. "Oh my god, it is. Did something actually happen?"

"I....I don't know." Keith mumbled, looking up as wind blew his hair from his face. He turned around, looking at the temple ruins behind him. "But.... Something tells me we need to go in there."

"The door's locked though. Some kind of barrier." Hunk stated, looking back at the door. Lance hummed, leaning over the edge of the wooden landing.

"Well then, I guess we need to check out the creepy seal." Lance said with a grin, jumping down to the next spiral and slowing his fall with his sailcloth. "Come on, slowpokes!"

The others sighed, but followed him, quickly making their way to where the jagged stone resided. The closer they got to it, though the sicker Keith felt. His head hurt and he found it hard to swallow. Red stayed close, nuzzling his leg gently.

 ** _"It's alright, Keith. Just bare with it a little longer._** " She said softly, leading Keith closer to the seal in the ground, a few paces behind the others.

In the center of the crater stood a pitch black stone, shaped similar to a sword. Keith recognized it from his dream. The dark purple fog was leaking from the ground, contained in the center by the large charred seal surrounding it. Pidge and Hunk were crouched by the seal, studying it, and Lance looked like he was debating stepping closer to the pillar-shaped stone.

 _".... Young ones_ _.... " _Keith tensed, thankful that the others tensed as well. At least this time, he wasn't alone in hearing voices. " _Children of destiny, descended from the sky_ _... Raise your bayard skyward_ _.... Take aim at the evil aura and unleash its power...."_

Lance scoffed, frowning. "What?! No way are we doing that? Why should we unleash _evil_! We're supposed to _stop_ it!" He was about to continue, but stopped when Keith stepped forward with a nudge from Red.

Keith gripped his bayard's handle tighter, uncertainty coiling in his gut. "Red, wait. A-Are you sure I'm supposed to-"

 ** _"It'll be fine, kitten._** " She said softly, nudging him a little closer. **_"It's the only way to keep going."_**

"If it's the only way then I guess you have to, Keith." Pidge said with a tad of regret when Keith looked to her and Hunk for help. The bigger man nodded, motioning for him to go on even though h was nervous. Keith sighed, accepting that he's have to do this, and raised his bayard, feeling it charge with energy. He swung down towards the sword, watching the magic slash hit the stone sword. The inscriptions on the black sword glowed red for a moment, before fading away with the dark purple mist. Everyone held their breath, waiting for something to happen. When nothing but the geysers rising higher into the air happened, they let out a collective sigh.

"Oh god, that was too close." Hunk murmured, the others nodding in agreement. Red hummed, sniffing the ground again before starting to bound up the spiraling dirt.

 ** _"Come on, Shiro's in the temple!"_**  She shouted, and the group looked at each other before racing after her.

When they reached the top of the hill, they were all panting little bit, and Red wandered to the door. The glowing blue seal that covered the door disappeared, and Keith rushed over to it. He pushed it open with the others, gritting his teeth as the rust creaked and flaked under the force.

Inside, the group was shocked to find everything was, for the most part, still intact. There were rooms off to the sides, sunlight spilling in through a hole in the ceiling near the back. A statue was in the middle of the left side of the room, and a small set of stair was in dead center, which Keith found odd. But as his eyes trailed around the ruins, his eyes were drawn once more to the blinding sunlight in the back of the room, and what he caught this time, took his breath away.

Shiro stood there, back facing the group. Keith's heart began to race and without thought he breathed, "Shiro?"

At the silent sound of his name, Shiro perked up slightly, turning towards the small group. Keith's eyes widened, and he forced himself not to let his emotions take hold of him. Not in front of Lance, Pidge, and Hunk. Shiro looked like he had the day before, when his reflection had shown in the water. The tuft of hair that fell gracefully over his forehead was white, a scar cut across the bridge of his nose, and his arm- oh, his _arm_ was replaced by a prosthetic that looked so much more lifelike and advanced than anything they had on Skyloft. Next to him, was a black lion like Red, except bigger.

Keith stepped forward, his feet carrying him all by himself, completely forgetting the others. Shiro's eyes widened in surprise, but Keith could already feel that something wasn't _there_ in his gaze. "Keith?"

He had to stop himself from running towards Shiro and hugging the life out of him, and he blinked back tears. Instead, he continued to take slow and steady steps towards him, Shiro and his lion walking to meet him halfway. Keith reached up, hand automatically heading for Shiro's face, but he stopped himself and directed it to his shoulder, instead. Shiro was solid. Warm.

Keith let out a choked laugh, quiet enough the other three behind him couldn't hear. "It-It is you." Keith said, voice steadier than he thought it would be. "You're really here."

Shiro's graceful smile slipped onto his face, eyes affectionate. "It's been a long time, Keith."

 


	6. Chapter 6

"Alright, we found Shiro!" Laughter and cheers broke out from behind Keith, and Shiro's affectionate smile turned into one of amusement.

"Friends of yours?" He asked as Keith turned around to see Hunk hugging Pidge and Lance while the other two high fived each other. Keith shook his head, frowning slightly as his gaze turned back to Shiro. He was vaguely aware of the lions purring loudly at their feet, but his attention was solely on Shiro.

"Not exactly...." Keith admitted bitterly, although he felt a small drop of worry at the fact Shiro couldn't remember the others even though he had seen them daily on Skyloft. He shoved the worry away with a small shake of his head, and he met Shiro's gaze once more. "What happened to you, Shiro? Where are the Holts, a-and how did you find your lion?"

Shiro's expression turned into a grimace, and he broke eye contact with Keith, looking vaguely in the direction of one of the rooms. "I... Don't remember...." He admitted, and Keith felt his heart drop a little.  "It's all fuzzy... But Black found me, and led me here." Shiro's smile returned, but it was hesitant. "I guess it was so she could lead me to you guys."

 ** _"Did you explain anything to him, Black?_** ** _"_** Red asked, drawing Shiro and Keith's attention to the lions. Black nodded, sitting down besides Shiro's feet.

**_"I explained the basics. I've told him nothing more than Voltron and you have explained to the others, Red."_ **

**_"Okay, good."_** Red said, her aura smiling gently before she sat down. **_"My darling Black, if you would please."_**

 ** _Alright, everyone, listen up!"_** She shouted, catching everyone's attention. **_"Before we continue, I must explain some more things to you. You five are the paladins, but you will need guides through the lands here. Us lions are not enough, I'm afraid, since we have been sealed away for many years, and the lands have changed. So, the Goddess had chosen two surface dwellers to drastically decrease the aging of, so that you many have someone to help you. These surface dwellers should be near here, awaiting their call."_** Black's tail twitched, waiting for any comments so far, but all of them were silent, waiting for her to continue. **_"We are standing under the roof of the Sealed Temple, a place built by the goddess an eternity ago. Your arrival here was predestined, although Shiro arrived much earlier than he was supposed to because of that dastardly black tornado."_ ** Black growled slightly as she said that, pressing herself closer to her chosen. Red purred sympathetically.

**_"There is an evil power working in the shadows, moving to warp the destiny of which all of you are a part."_ **

"But that only Shiro and Keith are necessary, right?" Lance grumbled, earning a small punch to the arm from Pidge. Black sighed, nodding.

_**"...Yes, I admit, only Shiro and Keith are vital to the destruction of Zarkon, but this is not a two man journey. You three are vital pieces as well. You will protect them, physically and mentally. This is too large a burden for only two to take. Please, understand that Lance."** _

Lance huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he grumbled, "Yeah, I got it."

"Uh, forgive him, I think he's grumpy he hasn't gotten a lion yet." Hunk said quickly, motioning for Black to continue. Black chuckled lightly. _**"Don't worry, my dear. Either Blue or Green is next- I'm not sure which. You'll get your own lion soon enough."**_ Black trailed off, her gaze wandering to Keith for a moment, as if trying to decipher something. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, steadily growing uncomfortable under the gaze. Red noticed, and pawed at Black, catching her attention. **_"Oh, yes. You five must make your way to Faron Woods, but you must be wary. You will be traveling in unfamiliar lands, and many monsters that the bad Galra had created so long ago have settled here. Red and I shall lead you through the woods until we manage to find the surface dwellers who will help us. There's a treasure chest off the side that one of you should open. It has something that'll prove useful for your days here on the surface. Now then... Shall we go?"_**

"Uh, wait! Um, do you know where the Holts are? The men that fell with Shiro."

Black's eyes seemed to dim, as if she was sad. _**"I apologize, young Pidge. I'm afraid I never managed to find them after they were separated from Shiro. But do not worry, they are surely safe somewhere. Not all creatures here are evil, after all."**_

Pidge sighed, looking down. "No.... I get it. Thank you for looking for them." She said softly, smiling sadly at Black. _**"Be patient. They will be found."**_

Keith sighed, running his hand through his hair. He was so, so happy to have finally found Shiro, but the dread and fear he felt refused to disappear. It was making him jittery, nervous. He had so many questions, and so little answers. Shiro placed a hand between Keith's shoulder blades, nearly causing him to jump as he was startled. "You okay?"

Keith smiled, laughing bitterly. "I should be asking _you_ that." He said softly, before remember Shiro's vest. "Oh, that's right! I, uh, I have your vest." He said, turning around to carefully pull the vest from its pocket. Shiro grinned, taking it when it was offered.

"Thanks, Keith. I'm surprised you still have it."

"It was comfortable.... I have more of your stuff back in Skyloft- in the house we found." Keith explained, looking away as Shiro pulled the black material on. It fit him well, nearly being skin tight but definitely comfortable. It was Shiro's size, after all, and just like all of Shiro's clothes, it had practically drowned Keith even though he was only four or five inches shorter. Shiro smiled sadly, zipping the vest up as high as it would go.

"I'm... sorry Keith. I don't remember the house. I.. barely remember Skyloft."

Oh.

Keith smiled, shrugging a little. "That's alright. You'll, uh, you'll be able to see it again when we go back a few days from now. The others will be glad to see you."

Shiro smiled. "Can't wait."

"Hurry up, you guys! We're burning daylight!" Lance shouted from the door off to the side. Black and Red were waiting with him, Pidge and Hunk over by the treasure chest, quietly debating something. After a few minutes, they too went to the door, a bottle filled with magenta fluid in Hunk's hand. Keith and Shiro went over to them, and together they left the temple.

When they were outside, they were surprised to see a set of stair, completely intact.  "Huh... I wonder if everything is so well taken care of here." Pidge commented, already starting to walk forward with Keith and Shiro close behind. Lance and Hunk took up the rear.

It wasn't long before they heard the sounds of fighting, and the group rushed to the edge of the ledge in front of them. What they saw surprised them.

A girl with dark skin and long silver hair was fighting alongside a man with pale skin and orange hair and a mustache, fending off a ground of strange solider-like creatures. The humans moved completely in sync, like they had been doing this for years. Keith felt Shiro freeze up beside him, and when he turned to look at him he saw how Shiro's eyes seemed to be far away.

"Shiro?" He asked right as Lance gasped.

"We need to help them!" He said, not waiting long for a response and jumping down from the ledge as he knocked an arrow.

"Lance, hold on a second!" Hunk said, jumping down after his friend and pulling out his own bow and arrow. Pidge cursed, looking back at Keith before following them down.

"Shiro, what's wrong?" Keith asked, lightly touching Shiro's arm. He gasped as Shiro grabbed Keith's wrist as fast as lightning without even seeming like he knew he was doing it. "It's me, Keith!" At his name, Shiro gasped, letting go of Keith's wrist and stepping back like he was burned.

"I'm sorry! You aren't hurt, are you?" He asked, and Keith scowled.

"I'm fine, Shiro." He said, and he knew Shiro caught the silent question he was asking. Shiro sighed softly, biting his lip before shaking his head and jumping down with Black at his heels to join the fight. Keith's scowl deepened and his unease grew, but his attention snapped from Shiro fighting with that mechanical arm to Red, who was rubbing against his legs.

_**"Keith, let's go help. Shiro's gonna be fine for a bit.... he has Black to help him stay calm, like I'm here to do for you."** _

Keith stared at his lion for a while, before sighing and nodding. "Alright. " He said softly, jumping down and going to join the fight. He protected Lance and Hunk's blind sides as they protected the others, and soon enough all the monsters were dead, blasting into smoke and turning to ash. The girl who had been fighting gasped as she saw Red and Black, but then she cheered.

"Oh, this is wonderful! You are the ones we've been looking for!" She said, clapping her hands together. Close up, she and the man had small tattoos under their eyes shaped like slightly bent triangles, but they were different colors. "I'm Allura and this is Coran. We're your guides for the surface lands!" The man beside her grinned, waving.

"Hello, Lads! Name's Coran, don't wear it out!" He said excitedly, going towards some of the money and a trinket one of the monsters had dropped and picking it up. "Allura and I have been waiting for you five for quite a while now, but before we get into everything, what are your names?" He asked, walking back over as he pocketed the spoils.

"The name's Lance." Lance purred, sliding up to Allura and kissing her hand. Allura laughed weakly, her smile turning strained for a moment before she moved away from Lance.

"Wonderful. And the rest of you?"

"My name is Shiro. I'm the Black Paladin." Shiro said, offering his flesh and blood hand to her to shake. Allura smiled, nodding a bit as she shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Shiro."

"I'm Pidge, the big friendly guy is Hunk." Pidge said with a grin, pointing to herself and then Hunk, who waved. Allura nodded a hello to them, before her gaze fell to Keith.

"And you are?"

Keith was quiet for a while, crossing his arms over his chest again after a moment. "Keith. I'm the Red Paladin." He said, nearly mumbling. Coran laughed, lightly slapping Keith on the back. "Come now, Keith! Loosen up a bit!" He said loudly, making Allura giggled a little as Keith stumbled a bit from the force and glared at Coran. 

"Well, it's wonderful to see you again, Black, Red. It's been far too long." Allura said with a small hum as her attention turned to the lions beside Keith and Shiro. Black chuckled, nodding. _**"Yes, it's nice to see you again as well, Princess."**_

_**"You look amazing, Princess. Barely aged a day."** _

" _Princess?!_ " Lance, Pidge, and Hunk shouted, more vocal in their surprise. Allura's smile never faltered as she nodded, and Coran practically swooped in to talk with pride.

"Yep! Allura von Altea, Princess to the forgotten Altean empire! Why, I remember the day the goddess offered her this position like it was yesterday! Alfor's little girl had grown up into such a wonderful lady, sacrificing her home and family for the chance to help the heroes of legend in their journey." Coran sniffed, tears in his eyes. "It truly was a magical day in such a dark time."

"Coran, please." Allura scolded, blushing from the praise, before she cleared her throat and once again clapped her hands. "Alright, now that we know everyone's names, let us get started! See that statue over there?" She asked, pointing off to the side, where a bird statue similar to the ones around Skyloft sat. " _That_ is your ticket back to Skyloft. There are many scattered around the surface lands, but only those from Skyloft can use them. Each time you five return to Skyloft, Coran and I will wait for you to return, since with the help of the lions, you can return to each statue without trouble."

"No way, this rust piece of junk can take us home?" Lance asked, walking over to the old statue. He tapped it and yelped as a bright light filled the design, spreading over the statue and making it look brand new. Everyone stared at it for a moment, and Lance straightened, clearing his throat. "Huh. I stand corrected." He turned back around, motioning for Allura and Coran to continue talking. "Continue."

"That was so cool!" Pidge cheered, rushing to the statue to study it, although she did look like she was still listening.

Coran laughed good naturedly, twirling his mustache. "My oh my, this group sure seems lively! Well, we can keep talking as we make our way towards the temple the next bayard resides in. We've got a lot to do, kiddos!" He said, motioning towards the wall covered with vines. "First, I recommend whoever's strong enough to roll a big long a few feet come with me. I've got a shortcut that'll help us all return to the Sealed Temple!"

"I'll go with you Coran." Hunk said, and the two climbed up the vines, going through the small cave pathway that leads to wherever Coran wanted to go.

A few minutes later, they came back, and the group continued forward.

\-------

"Alright, so some information about Faron Woods!" Coran said happily as they walked through the forest. "There is plentiful water that sustains a large diversity of flora and fauna, including that massive tree in the center there! The species that live here vary, from Arusians to southern Olkari and plenty of others- including some good Galrans! They tend to keep to themselves, though, so they don't get found by Zarkon's monsters. The original Green paladin lived here until the chosen five had to live at the Sealed Temple, and the Zoras also moved here many centuries ago when Lanayru became a desert, since they can't live without the water- actually, all the species of most of the original paladins have been changed around." Coran hummed as he pondered this, and when the group looked to Allura she explained.

"When Lanayru became a desert, the Zoras moved here and can be found at Lake Flora, while the Olkari and Balmerans split into two. Some went to Lanayru to mine the resources there- the Olkari built the mining facilities, while the Balmerans did the actual mining. Most of the Balmerans live in the Eldin province and most Olkari live here as well. Truthfully, it's a little messier than what it used to be, but everyone supports everyone, so there aren't many problems."

"What about the Black Paladin's species? And the Galras?" Hunk asked, and Coran took over once again.

"The Black Paladin was a godling.... I guess you could say he was similar to being the Goddess's son. He had no family, and the inly other god there had been was the Goddess. The Galran, after the sealing of their previous ruler and the... loss of the Red Paladin, scattered throughout the surface lands. They're all over, considering their numbers, but stick to themselves. I think they still feel bad for what happened in the past... also, if Zarkon found out they were still around and planning to defy him if he ever rose again, they need to stay as safe as possible."

"That's so sad." Hunk said after a moment. "They're living in fear of something that shouldn't have any control over them."

"The few I've met actually seem to enjoy the solitude. Turns out many species today don't trust in the remaining Galran... the truth was lost in translation."

"That's just stupid." Keith muttered, and the others nodded in agreement.

\--------

"Hey, what's that?" Lance asked, pointing ahead of them. Keith looked up from where he was looking at his feet, seeing a small creature duck behind a bush before peek out around the edge. It was looking at them suspiciously, before ducking back behind the bush and Coran let out an exclamation.

"Oh! I believe that is an Arusian, Lance!"

"It doesn't look like it enjoys our company."

"Yes, well, you five are strangers." Coran hummed, and the group wandered over to the Arusian. "Hello there!"

The Arusian let out a startled yell, but it quickly brandish it's sword, pointing it at the taller beings. Keith took the moment to study the creature. It was small and its skin was a light sandy color, and instead of hair, it looked like it had snail shells on top of its head. "Who are you?!"

"We're travelers." Shiro explained, and the Arusian's eyes narrowed. "What's your name?"

"My name is Klaizap! I am the bravest warrior of my people." The Arusian said proudly, and Allura smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, Klaizap, but if you are the best warrior of your people, why aren't you with them?"

"I must defeat the monsters of the forest! They have scattered my people throughout the forest, and they will not regroup until the evil ones are gone." He explained, frowning as he sheathed his sword.

"Oh! Well, we are actually on our way to cleanse the temple that caused them to appear."

"Really?" Klaizap asked with a gasp, and Allura nodded. Klaizap suddenly tuned flustered, and he quickly bowed. "I saw you from further away, and assumed you were monsters in disguise. I apologize." He said, bowing low to the ground. Allura's smile simply widened.

"Please, its alright! These woods are dangerous after all. How about we help you find everyone? Then when we will go to the temple and cleanse it while you protect your people. Can you do that for us?"

"Of course! Our king is going to be so happy to find out everyone is alright, thank you!"

"It's nothing, really. Right, everyone?"

The others simply nodded, smiling at the Arusian. Keith nodded as well, but he didn't look at Klaizap, worried that it might take too long or that he might be lying. He knew it was what was right, though, so he didn't disagree.

\-------

They wandered through the forest, finding a small cluster of Arusians hiding away on a platform of raised ground, which was easy enough to reach once they found a vine to swing from. After that, it became as simple as following Black and Red as they sniffed out the other groups.

" _Kitharas...."_ A voice hissed, making Keith freeze. He recognized that name. Shiro stopped, noticing Keith was no longer beside him. "Keith?" He asked, catching the attention of the others.

"Did you hear that?" He asked, starting to look around for the source of the voice.

"Hear what?"

 _"Kitharas..."_ The voice hissed again, anger leaking into its voice. "Hear that!" Keith said quickly, missing the worried glanes that Hunk exchanged with Lance and Pidge.

"We didn't hear anything, Keith." Shiro said softly, stepping closer to Keith and resting his hand on his shoulder. "You sure it wasn't your imagination?"

"I-" Keith started, before sighing and running a hand through his hair. "No. No, I'm not sure. Sorry, lets keep going."

\-------

As they were searching for the second group of Arusians, the sun set, and the team set up camp.

"Alright, so I've got some rations of pumpkin soup, some berries, some water, and... some jerky." Hunk said, placing everything down. "Oh, I also have this revitalizing potion for your shield, in case anyone's is close to breaking.

"I've got some crackers, too." Pidge said, placing them down. "Think that'd be enough for now?"

"Mom packed us some bowls." Lance pulled out five wooden bowls, handing them to the others before looking at Coran, Allura, and Klaizap. "Sorry, she only packed enough for the five of us... I'll have her pack more for when we come down again."

"Oh, that's quite alright, Lance!" Coran hummed, pulling out two bowls from his bag. "I've got some, myself!" 

"I don't need one." Klaizap said after a moment, already eating some of the berries he had.

"Oh, that's good. Allura, Coran, Klaizap, do you guys have anything?" Shiro asked, looking over to the three surface dwellers. Klaizap offered some of his berries, and Coran grinned. "Actually, I've still got some Altean delicacies that I can make- very nutritious. I've got some from last night right here!" He said eagerly, pulling out a few bottles filled with something that looked like green jello.

"Who would like to try it?" Coran asked, smiling as Allura took some for herself.

"I'll try some, Coran." Hunk said with a grin, although the others looked unsure as they grabbed their own small portions of food to eat.

"Um, I think I'll wait a bit, Coran." Keith said with a small smile and a shake of his head. "I'm not very hungry, anyway."

"Seriously?" Lance asked around a cracker in his mouth. "Dude, you've been killing monsters left and right today! How are you _not_ hungry!?"

Keith shrugged, and Red pressed closer to him, silently telling him to eat. "I'm just not." He said with a tone of finality. He didn't want to explain that nerves were making his stomach twist into knots, and just the idea of eating a normal amount of food was a little sickening to him right now. He had some of the pumpkin soup and a couple of crackers, but soon his attention turned to the sky.

"Huh.... you can see the stars from here, too. the cloud barrier doesn't hide them at all." He mentioned during a lull in conversation, and the others looked up as well.

 _"Kitharas..."_ A voice hissed across the wind. Keith tensed, looking around for the source of the voice. "Hey, did you guys hear anything?"

The others shook their heads, and Hunk frowned. "You okay, Keith? That's like the third or fourth time today you've thought something happened when nothing did."

"What do you mean?" Allura asked, leaning forward in curiosity. Shiro frowned slightly, glancing at Keith.

"When we first got here, there was a really dense purple fog coming from the sword sealing Zarkon away, and it cause us to have some sort of vision when the monster version of Zarkon attacked us. Right before the vision, Keith said that something had pulsed, and he had a really strong reaction to the vision- his head hurt and he stumbled back." Pidge explained, causing Allura and Coran to exchange glances.

"Wait, you guys didn't feel the tremors?" Shiro asked, surprised. Everyone but Keith shook their heads, and Keith looked shocked.

"You felt them, too?"

"Yeah. I didn't have a vision, though..."

"Well, at least we aren't crazy." Keith said with a grim smile. Shiro chuckled and ruffled Keith's hair, agreeing with the noirett.

"Must be something having to do with-"

 _"Kitharas, how dare you show your face here again!"_ Keith flinched from the malice of the voice, causing Allura to cut of her theory and everyone to look at him with worry. Keith looked down, shaking his head.

"I'm fine. Just, uh, got startled by a bird." He said after a moment, standing up after a moment. "I'll be back in a few minutes. I need to clear my head." He said, before turning and walking away from the group with Red at his side.


	7. Chapter 7

_"Something doesn't feel right, Takashi. Are we sure going to Eldin Volcano is wise?" Keith found himself asking as he pressed closer to a warm body. The body chuckled warm-heartedly, causing him to look up. His breath was taken away when he looked into the eyes of the person who looked so much like Shiro. This person's eyes were beautiful; a vibrant, faintly glowing purple that was so much brighter than Keith's and closer to amethyst than his would ever be. In comparison, Keith's own strange purple eyes looked entirely like a slate gray._

_"You worry too much, Kitha." The man said, his voice a bit higher than Shiro's. "Don't forget, we have Meri, Flint, and Neftral with us now. We aren't alone." Keith sighed, pressing himself into Shiro's side a little bit more._

_"I know, but... I have a bad feeling." Keith felt the Shiro look alike tense, and he bit his lip, looking down._

_"Do you want to put it off?" The male asked softly, and Keith was quiet for a minute, playing with the long shiny red cloth covering his hands almost entirely. Keith was surprised to find he wasn't all that alarmed by the fact his hands were_ purple _and instead felt entirely normal._

_Eventually, Keith let out a large sigh. "No... No, we can't put it off. We're in the middle of war, Takashi." He said, looking back up at the male. His vibrant eyes softened, and he caressed Keith's cheek, causing his heart to race._

_"I understand, my lovely Kitharas. If you feel its safe enough to go, then we shall." He leaned down, his lips brushing against Keith's forehead. Keith shifted around, moving to straddle the male as his hands clutched his black and silver robe. He was finally taller than Shiro's look-alike, and he rested his forehead against his own, closing his eyes for a moment as he simply breathed._

_"I'm... I'm_ not _certain, though. Takashi, what if Zarkon has a trap set for us?"_

_Keith shivered, feeling a hand run up his back as he stared into those beautiful purple eyes that held so much love in them. "Then I will have been glad to die with you by my side." The man whispered, and Keith felt his heart lurch and a smile slip onto his features as he laughed wetly._

_"You are such a sap."_

_"Only for you, my dear prince." Keith's heart raced as their lips brushed for a small moment, before they pressed a bit harder, creating a kiss filled with love and almost innocent passion._

_He gasped when the body beneath him disappeared, finding himself sprawled onto a dirt floor with dark red spots littering it. A metallic scent filled the air, something hard and cold was on his wrists, which made a clanking sound when he moved, and his heart racing in an entirely different way that it had before. He slowly straightened himself, sitting up properly but afraid to look up. Footsteps came closer to him, and soon feet appeared in his vision. Purple and red armor._

_"Kitharas." The person said in a calm anger, and Keith felt his breath hitch._

_"How dare you betray us?" Keith bowed his head further, yelping as his arms were yanked up and he was lifted by the chains, now forced to look into menacing golden eyes. His heart was racing now, pounding so hard he thought it might break from his ribcage. But his expression never betrayed him. It stayed schooled into a scowl, his fear hidden beneath his anger._

_"This is_ wrong _. The surface dwellers have done nothing to deserve-"_

_A slap echoed throughout the room, and Keith's cheek hurt._

_"Enough! You need to learn your lesson, Kitharas." A sick smirk spread across his captor's face, and he stepped back, starting to morph before Keith's very eyes. "And I know just how..." He said, voice turning into a growl as he grew larger and larger, into a lizard-like beast that was purple and blood red with sharp, jagged teeth filling it's mouth as it roared and lunged straight for Keith._

Keith woke up, gasping harshly for breath and curling onto his side as he placed a hand over his mouth. He was shivering, and he felt incredibly sick as the small amount of food in his stomach rolled uncomfortably. Red cooed softly from her place beside him, nudging her head against his shoulder.

 _ **"Oh, my poor Keith..."**_ She whispered. _**"Zarkon haunts your dreams, doesn't he?"**_ Keith didn't answer, trying to calm himself so as not to wake the others up. He tried not to focus on the fact that if that was his dream on the first night of their trip, when they were just beginning to fight against Zarkon, that must mean that they could only get worse.

Red lightly nudged Keith to his feet, helping him walk away from the group as Shiro stirred slightly from his own sleep. Red led him to a small spring beneath the Great Tree, and he splashed his face with water, taking deep breaths.

"I-I don't... I don't get it." He hissed, gripping the dirt beneath his hands as hard as he could. "I've had that monster lunge at me time and time again, but this time- this time it _terrified_ me."

_**"I... Believe you were experiencing a twisted memory, courtesy of Zarkon. He wishes to scare you. Keep you away so that he may rule without worry of being defeated."** _

Keith scoffed, curling in on himself. "Well, he's not going to get his way. I'll stop him if its the last thing I do..."

\-------

The next day, Allura and Coran woke everyone but Keith up at first light. Keith had already been up for a few hours now, due to his nightmare, but he still glared at the surface dwellers. How could they be so _cheerful_ his early in the morning.

They had a small breakfast from their rations, and they made their way around the forest area again, letting Black and Red lead them towards the Arusians. Keith stuck close to Shiro, ignoring the looks Pidge was giving him. As they walked, they came across something that looked like a very intricate gazebo. Keith looked at the gazebo for a while, feeling almost.... _nostalgic_ as he looked at it. Shiro paused beside him, placing a hand on Keith's shoulder. "Keith?"

When Keith registered the touch, he looked up at Shiro, his question in his eyes. Shiro's hand gave his shoulder a small squeeze. "What's up? You've seemed out of it since we woke up."

Keith wondered if he should tell Shiro about the feeling he had as he looked at the gazebo, and after a moment shook his head, smiling gently up at Shiro. "It's nothing. Sorry for worrying you." Shiro didn't look convinced, opening his mouth to say something else.

 _ **"They are up there, hiding away in the tall grass."** _ Red said from a little ways away, motioning up towards a ledge that was accessible by climbing a series of vines. Keith stepped away from Shiro, rushing over to her. He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, feeling a little more at ease now that he wasn't as close to the gazebo. Shiro followed him a bit more slowly, a small frown on his face.

"Great! I'll go up with Klaizap and check on them." Lance said with a grin, "I'll also use it as a vantage point to help you take out those monsters there." He started climbing the vines, motioning towards the left, where a few of the humanoid monsters that wandered around the forest stayed. Klaizap quickly followed Lance, and once the archer was ready, Shiro and Pidge went to attack the monsters. Keith watched quietly beside Red, who was conversing softly with Black, too quiet for the rest of the group to hear.

A few moments later, and two poofs were heard, as well as the clang of spoils falling to the ground. Coran hummed, striding over to collect the rare trinkets while Pidge and Shiro collected any money the monsters had dropped.

Lance conversed with the Arusian group, and soon after he came back down with Klaizap. "Alright, one more group to go!" He cheered, laughing a bit and earning smiles from the others.

\-----

The third group, it turned out, was only the king stuck in a tree.

"My king!" Klaizap gasped, staring up at the older Arusian after they defeated the monsters tormenting him. "How did you get up there?"

"I climbed, obviously." The king said, clinging to the trunk of the tree. "But, uh, I'm afraid I'm unable to get down. My legs have turned to jelly."

After a few minutes of discussion, Coran climbed up the tree and helped the king down, where Klaizap was waiting to check him for wounds. "Who are you people?" The King asked, letting Klaizap look him over.

"We're, uh..." Allura frowned for a moment, trying to think of a proper name. She snapped her fingers when she got an idea. "We're Voltron, you're majesty. We're going to get rid of all the monsters and cleanse the temple, like the paladins of old did."

The King gasped, looking at Allura with wide eyes. "Really?" She nodded, smiling brightly, and the King grinned. "Wonderful! It has been a nightmare here recently. To see my people again would be my greatest wish."

"Don't worry. you'll be with them again soon." Hunk assured, smiling at him. "We'll solve this problem in no time."

The King and Klaizap cheered, and before the group left to go towards the temple, the King gave Coran a slingshot as thanks for getting him out of the tree. "You may need it in the temple. I heard it's been filled with monsters for nearly a year now. This will help you stun them or unravel vines to help you swing over them."

"My thanks, dear King." Coran said royally, bowing low after taking the slingshot. The group left the Arusians, and made their way from where the King had been.

"Alright, so... where exactly is the temple? We wandered around the entire forest looking for those guys, and I saw nothing that looked like a temple." Lance said, resting his head in his hands. Hunk hummed, shaking his head.

"No, there was that weird marble structure by the second group of Arusians. It didn't look like a temple, but it could be the entrance to one."

"Ding ding ding! That is correct, Hunk!" Coran said cheerfully, turning and walking backwards as he addressed the group. "That place is a sacred structure, built in honor of the original Black Paladin, and while it used to be the Black Paladin's home and place of worship, it also served as a distraction to the true entrance to the deep woods, where the temple is located. So, we'll be heading there."

Keith felt a small knot of dread in his stomach, not wanting to go back to the gazebo. He didn't understand what he was feeling around it, and he really didn't want to have the possibility of having some sort of vision if he so much as got near it. He stayed silent, though, letting Coran and Allura lead them to the white structure. It looked so much bigger up close, and the stone cooled the air, making some of the group sigh in relief as they stepped onto the marble. Keith trailed onto the marble steps last, and he let out a sigh as nothing happened, although it came too soon as Shiro let out a small hiss, his flesh and blood hand going up to his forehead as he bent forward in pain.

"Whoa, Shiro, are you okay?" Lance asked, noticing it as well. He stepped closer, but Black let out a soft growl of warning.

 ** _"Don't touch him."_** She warned, and Lance took a step back, holding his hands up in surrender. ** _"He's just... Remembering. It'll be over in a few minutes. But if you touch him, he might accidentally lash out."_**

"He going to be okay, though? It looks super painful." Pidge asked, worried. Keith bit his lip, digging his nails into his palms. He wondered if Black meant he was remembering something from the past year, or if it was something like what Keith had been experiencing in his dreams. He wanted so badly to ask, but he held back. He didn't want to alarm anyone, or look like some sort of fool. He also didn't want to explain the dreams to the others until he was certain what they were.

A few long moments later, Shiro straightened from his pained hunch and he shook his head a little. "Okay.. that was... that was weird." He said softly, eyes still a little far away as he looked to Keith. Keith's heart started to ache, seeing Shiro's expression turn from something like longing into confusion. He quickly broke eye contact, taking long and quick strides up the stairs.

"Keith, where are you going?" Hunk asked, watching with confused eyes. Keith ignored him, trying to get that look on Shiro's face out of his mind. He glanced up the third flight of stairs off to the side, across from a tall ledge that probably held the entrance to the deep woods.

"Hey, will there be another statue closer to the temple, or should we stop at Skyloft for any supplies replenishing here?" He asked, glancing to Coran and Allura. Coran shot a seed at the rolled up vine above them, watching with a satisfied smile as it rolled down.

"There's one closer to the temple, don't worry." Allura said with a smile, already climbing up the vine and swinging onto the ledge. "Come on, let's get going! We should make it to the temple by sunset." She called, and Keith quickly followed her up, waiting for the others. Steadily, they each came up, Hunk climbing up last. They made their way through another cave-like pathway, stepping out onto a canyon-like path that curved to the left. They wandered down the path, only to stop when they saw a large hole in the path, the only way across being a rope tied across the middle. Hunk audibly gulped.

"Aw, don't worry, Hunk!" Lance said, patting the male on the back. "You make it across easily!"

"No, I really don't think I could."

 _ **"If you'd like, Red or I would be happy to take you across, Hunk, until you have your own lion.**_ _ **"**_ Hunk paled at that, laughing weakly.

"Uh, no thanks. I'd rather not. That's just be embarrassing."

 _ **"Alright, the walk across the rope, big guy."**_ Red said as Coran shot the beehive that was hanging over it. _**"Here, I'm metal, much heavier than you. I'll show you there's nothing scary about this."**_ Red looked behind herself to Keith, and motioned towards the rope. _**"You follow close behind me, kitten."**_

Keith sighed softly, nodding. "Will do, Red." He said, following her to the rope and carefully starting to walk across the tightrope a few steps behind Red. When they made it across, Keith quickly killed the monster that charged at him, his sword cutting clean through it's chest. "You guys can come across now! It's safe!" He called, heading down the small section of path and blocking a projectile attack with his shield. He growled at the strange octopus-like creature, timing his movements so that the next projectile the monster shot at him he sent right back. The creature cried out, shriveling up and dying, leaving a hole in the ground. He turned when he heard a whistle, seeing Coran behind him.

"Nice one, Keith. You seem to be a natural."

Keith looked down, shrugging as he put his bayard and shield back in their place. "It's really not that special. I just practice."

Coran hummed, heading over to the small ledge they would have to shimmy across to continue forward. "Not what I saw. That was pure instinct."

"Aw man, another break! Where are we supposed to go?" Lance asked as he came down the stone path.

"There's a thin ledge on the back of here."  Keith pointed out, motioning towards the ledge. Lance turned to him and glared slightly, growling a little.

"Yeah, I knew that. Just wasn't sure if you did." He scoffed, making Pidge snort as she passed him. Lance gasped, offended. "What? I did!" He snapped, chasing after the small girl.

"I didn't say anything!" Pidge said with a laugh as she hopped up to grab the edge of the ledge and make her way across, Lance following close behind. Keith watched with an amused smile, laughing faintly when Coran tricked the monster across from the second rope into falling from the rope and into the ravine.

"Ah, there's that laugh." Shiro said softly, startling Keith. "You haven't laughed once since we met up again. It was admittedly a little worrying." He explained, watching as Allura and Hunk also made their way across the ledge and then the rope.

Keith tore his gaze from Shiro, looking at the others as they continued to carefully make their way across the ravine before looking at the ground. Once again, he crossed his arms over his chest, almost protectively.

"I'm not god with people, remember?" He said softly, kicking lightly at the ground. Shiro sighed softly, relaxing a bit next to him before straightening himself and striding towards the ledge.

"Yeah, I remember. I just... hoped you had changed a bit in the year I was gone." Shiro explained as he and Keith made their way across the ledge and rope. "It scared me to think you were all alone the year I was gone."

Keith tensed slightly, but said nothing, falling silent as they made their way across the final part of the ravine to where the others were waiting and Pidge was studying a strange cube-shaped rock with a lion design carved into it.

"Ah, good! Now we can explain what this cube is." Allura said cheerfully, walking over to the cube and Pidge. "These cubes here are to help you on your quest, and are called 'Goddess Cubes'. What you do, is whoever has a sword for a bayard charges up a Skyward Strike, and slashes it at the cube. It then turns into a light and forms a treasure chest up in your lovely world of Skyloft!" She grinned, looking at the group.

"That's so cool! Keith, before you do that, can I take a sample of this metal? I've never seen it before!" Pidge said excitedly, already taking out things to help her do that. Keith smiled fondly, nodding his agreement before vocalizing it.

"Knock yourself out." He said, and when Pidge was done, he activated his bayard, holding it up to the sky and waiting for it to charge before slashing at the cube. When it glowed red, it turned into a ball of light and shot into the sky, confirming what Allura said.

"Hey, there's another one right down here. Also I found the temple." Hunk called, making Keith turn around. Hunk had already done down the land created steps, and right at the bottom was another Goddess Cube. Keith hopped down from the ledge he was on, landing gracefully in front of the cube. He charged his bayard, and once again made the cube glow and shoot into the sky.

"Oh, wonderful!" Allura said happily. "We'll camp here for the night, and you five can go to Skyloft for the treasure chests the cubes left behind and restock before we go to the temple!"

"Sounds good to me." Shiro said with a small smile, walking over to be beside Keith.

"Yeah, I'm beat." Lance groaned, settling himself down by the bird statue. "We've been walking around and fighting all day. I'm ready for a break."

The others gave their own words of agreement and settled themselves down to rest for a bit, but Keith felt too antsy to do that. He instead studied the areas of space around the Temple, taking in the outer beauty of the structure. He was amazed that none of the ruins looked like, well, ruins. They all had signs of age, but none of them crumbled or chipped. They continued to stand proudly, looking like they must have so many years ago when they were pristine and new.

The nostalgic feeling and the dread he felt were mixing, twisting into an uncomfortable knot in his chest as they fought for power over his emotions. "Why.... Why do you feel familiar to me?" He asked no one, running his hands along one of the pillars.

 _ **"It's probably the same reason you have those dreams, kitten."**_ Keith jumped, turning to face Red. She walked over, settling herself at his feet. **_"You and Shiro are special, remember? You two are more in tune to the past these places hold, as you will learn in time. This place, especially."_** Red looked up at Keith, pawing at the steps beside her. After a moment, Keith sat down, and Red purred.

"But even Shiro doesn't seem to feel these things." Keith said softly, and Red laughed softly. **_"Yes, well, the past is a complicated thing. Shiro reacted to the original black paladin's home, did he not? You simply felt the nostalgia of that place. The others will feel it all in time. Did you know the Black and Red paladins cleansed this temple all by themselves?"_**

"They did?" Keith asked softly, absently reaching to scratch Red behind her ears even though she was metal. She seemed to enjoy it all the same as she hummed. _**"Yep.... See, the reason the red and black paladins are so much more important is partly because the Goddess originally thought they would be alright by themselves. The second Galran Prince was fierce and very rarely lost a battle. He had grown up ridiculed by his family for being so much smaller than most Galrans and how delicate he looked. They called him the "Omega Prince", even though they do not have that type of hierarchy, and he needed to prove he was not weak. The Black Paladin was calm and collected. He was almost the complete opposite of the Red Paladin in a fight, and he was a force to be reckoned with. Some would say he could bend even the sky to his will. He was the "Goddess' Son".... they had such strong spirits, the Goddess thought it would be enough... But it turns out, they struggled here. Zarkon and the first prince knew they were coming, and set up so many traps, both physical and psychological.... They were ruthless towards my paladin, since he had been their family. It nearly broke him."**_

"That's... That's terrible." Keith whispered, and Red nodded. "... But that's why there are three more paladins?" Again, Red nodded.

 _ **"After they healed from their fight here, the black and red paladins returned here to make new, better memories in place of their scars, so that the next paladins did not feel such terrible fear coming to the temple...."**_ ****Red looked up at Keith, and he could see her smile as she nudged him lovingly. _ **"I'm glad to see it worked."**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are very much appreciated! Please, tell me what you think!
> 
> Come talk to me at timetoshine16 on tumblr ;)


	8. Chapter 8

After a sleepless night, thanks to nerves and so many emotions from the past twisting around inside of him, Keith could honestly say he was very glad they were heading back to Skyloft for a little bit. He wanted to be flying again, free and able to breathe and think again. He needed those sensations of falling, of the wind curling around him like a chilled blanket that felt _safe._

Red had tried to get him to sleep, but her efforts had turned futile. He was up before the others, again, and while that concerned most of them, Shiro also looked a little understanding and Lance and Hunk looked like they needed a few more hours of sleep. Keith brushed aside their worries; he knew his own limits, and he would be fine for another day or two. He was sure of it.

Allura and Coran promised to stay where they were while the others were in the sky, instructing them on how to get back to Skyloft.

"Essentially, if you place your hand on the statue and say 'To the Sky', if should work. It only works for people of the sky, though, which is why we aren't able to go there." Allura explained, placing her hand lightly on the bird statue's head.

"So, like this?" Lance asked, placing his palm flat against the stand of the statue and saying firmly, "To the sky."

For a small, minuscule second, nothing happened, and Keith felt his relief of going back to Aka be crushed in that moment, but then a sparkling clear rainbow of light shot from the statue in a column, making its way to the sky and bringing with it a powerful gust of wind that shot the five sky-people into the air, a collective surprised scream coming from the group even as Keith had to bite back an exhilarated laugh as the dread weighing on him disappeared the higher they climbed.

They were carried above the clouds, far away from Skyloft and the beautiful green light that broke the barrier. They were carried high into the air, and then the wind beneath them disappeared, causing all of them to fall. Keith let out an deep breath, losing himself in the sensations as he plummeted back towards the ground even as the others called for their birds and were picked up.

"Keith! What are you doing?!" Hunk shouted, terrified from his perch on Lega's back. Shiro, safely placed on Kuro's back and looking like he hadn't been separated from her for a year, started to swoop down to catch him, but Black stopped him. Keith fell, closing his eyes as he felt tension leave him, and right as he reached the drop point where it would be dangerous if he waited any longer, brought his fingers to his lips and whistled, loud and clear as he twisted around so he was facing the barrier. A flash of crimson appeared in his line of sight, along with an eager call that was filled with excitement and welcome, and suddenly he was being caught by Aka, who cooed and trilled and turned her head so that she could nip playfully at Keith's hair when he was still laying across her back.

Keith laughed softly, hugging Aka around the neck tightly. "I missed you too, girl." He said softly, letting her fly up to be beside the others.

Hunk looked disastrously pale, Pidge looked amused, Lance looked shocked, and Shiro almost looked disappointed. His disappointment hurt, but Keith kept his expression blank as he asked asked Hunk if he was alright, to which he was given a screaming match in return.

"Why did you wait so long?!" Hunk croaked, worry I his voice even as he shouted. "You could've died!"

Keith shrugged slightly, looking away. Okay, maybe it wasn't smart to do that in front of them, but he didn't realize the concern Hunk was showing him would make him feel so... _guilty_. "It's comfortable." He mumbled in explanation, gaining a squawk of indignance from Lance.

"Did you just call plummeting towards the barrier without a Loftwing to control when you level out _'comfortable'_?!" He shouted, and Keith gave him a glare.

"Yeah, so?" He spat, not in the mood. Shiro noticed this and stepped in, flying between the two.

"Okay, no fighting, you two. Red, Black, can you two sniff out the treasure chests?" Shiro asked, and Black nodded while Red sniffed indignantly. 

**_"Of course we can, Shiro. Shall we split into two groups?"_ **

Shiro nodded. "Sure. That sounds like the best idea." He said after a moment, and the others agreed after a moment. "Alright then. Lance, Keith you two will go together with Red while Hunk, Pidge and I will follow Black." Keith held in a groan, hanging his head a little. Lance and Red both cried out in opposition.

 _ **"No way! I don't want that brat with Keith!"**_ Red snarled, making Black growl.

_**"Down, Red! I think it's a good idea, as well. You, Keith and Lance need to all calm down and get along."** _

_**"Keith has been fine! It's Lance that-"** _

"Red, she's right. Just calm down and let's get this over with, alright? Which one are we going to?" Keith said with a sigh, running his hands through Aka's feathers to calm himself. Red huffed while Lance frowned, and she nodded. _**"Fine. We'll go to the one on the small island. You guys go to the one on the Pumpkin Landing."**_

 _ **"Alright."**_ Black hummed, brushing lightly against Shiro and giving Kuro a soft hello before she flew off towards the treasure chest. Hunk and Pidge followed closely after giving Keith and Lance worried glances, and Shiro sighed.

"Can you guys please try to get along? You two would make a really good team if you set aside this rivalry." He said softly, eyes saddened. "Just try it for me, please?"

Keith hunched over slightly, not meeting his eyes as he gave him a hesitant nod. He didn't like disappointing Shiro, and the tone of his voice said that he certainly wasn't making Shiro proud of him right now. "Will do, Shiro." He said softly as Lance grumbling his agreement. Shiro sighed softly, nodding, and flew off to join the others.

"Great, now I'm stuck with Mr. Daredevil as his crazy lion." Lance muttered angrily, and Keith rolled his eyes.

"I can hear you, you know." Keith said dryly, motioning for Red to lead the way. He and Lance followed Red, Keith doing so much more leisurely than Lance. He just enjoyed the feeling of flying again, but Lance was steadily turning it into a race. Of course, it made Keith start to race him as well, since he didn't want to lose.

It didn't take long for them to reach where the chest was, and they leapt off their Loftwings at the same time, racing to the landing. Keith could practically feel Red roll her eyes as he hand Lance played a game of chicken, and she burst out laughing when they both opened their sail cloths just a little too late, causing them to stumble and fall over. The boys groaned, and Keith almost felt like he could imagine Shiro and the others groaning in embarrassment for their actions. He sighed, standing up as he brushed himself off. "Oh, be quiet, Red." He huffed, walking over to the chest. Lance huffed, standing up and following him with a big grin.

 "I won!" I touched the ground before you!" He said happily, watching from over Keith's shoulder as he opened the chest.

"Whatever you say, Lance." Keith said, pulling out one of the five identical items in the chest. "Okay... it looks like some sort of crystal, and there are five- one for each of us." Keith said, handing Lance the one he held.

"Huh. Wonder what they're for." Lance said curiously, holding the crystal up to the light. Keith shrugged, looking to Red.

"Do you know, Red?"

Red shook her head, looking apologetic. _**"No, I don't know. Allura and Coran probably know."**_ She said softly, and Keith nodded. "Alright. Let's pack these up and bring them to the others." He said, taking the other four from the chest and handing a few to Lance before pocketing his own.

They jumped off the ledge, calling for Aka and Azul. They caught them, and Keith circled the island for a few minutes, looking towards the Pumpkin Landing.

"Hey, you go on ahead. There's something I want to do first." Lance said honestly, making Keith look at him. "Seriously, I'll be back in two seconds."

"If you're getting supplies, we're all heading to the bazaar after meeting up. Why don't you wait?" Keith asked, making Lance glare and growl slightly at him.

"Why do you care, Mr. Hotshot?" Keith flinched back, clearing his throat slightly as he adjusted his seating on Aka's back.

"Sorry, geez. No need to snap at me. I just thought it would be more convenient if we all went together." He grumbled, looking away. "Let's go, Red."

Red nodded, glancing at Lance before following Keith as he flew in the direction of the others. When he reached them, they looked confused to see that Lance wasn't there. "Aw, Keith, buddy, don't tell me you killed him." Pidge groaned, her dark humor coming out. Keith scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"I didn't. He insisted on going to town ahead of us for some reason. Said he be back in a few seconds."

"Did he tell you why?" Hunk asked, and Keith shook his head.

"He snapped at me when I asked why he didn't want to wait." Keith explained, sitting back on Aka's back and pulling his bag around to the front so he could safely open the pouch the crystals resided in. "Here, these are what Lance and I found in the chest. Red thinks Coran and Allura might know what they are." He said, tossing one to each of them. It left him without one, but he could stomach having Lance give him the second one he had once they met up again.

"Oh, cool!" Hunk and Pidge cheered, studying the small crystals. Shiro laughed and tossed Keith a small brown pouch.

"That's what we found. It can attatch to either your belt or your bag, gives you more space." He explained, smiling softly. "It should be pretty useful." 

Keith caught the pouch with ease, studying it before latching it onto the side of his pants, beside his sheared knife under his shirt. "Great." He smiled, looking up at Shiro. "Now then, let's head to town so you can get your "official" paladin armor that  Headmaster Sokolov decided to make everyone, and stock of rations and arrows for Lance and Hunk."

"Sounds good to me. I'll go shop for rations and arrows with Lance." Hunk suggested, before flying off to the town.

"I'll go with you two to the academy- I want to drop off the samples I got." Pidge said with a hum and a smirk, flying around Shiro and Keith. "You two can go to Sokolov yourselves." She started towards the academy, Shiro and Keith following close behind. Aka and Kuro were trilling quietly, talking to each other with ease as they led their riders to the academy. Keith smiled slightly, seeing how happy Shiro looked to be flying again.

"You look like you're having fun." He stated after a moment, and Shiro laughed softly. 

"I forgot how much I enjoy this."

Keith nodded, smiling at him. "I'm glad you can experience it again. Kuro disappeared along with you- she was no where I could fly to."

"Really?" Shiro asked, a little surprised. Keith nodded. 

"Yeah. She was just... Gone. No sign of her, anywhere. I'm glad she came back with you."

Shiro hummed, looking down at Kuro and running his hands through her feathers. "Me too."

\-----

When they walked into the upper part of the academy, Pidge immediately broke off from the group to go to her room and her research materials. Keith looked around the upper floor, wary of Iverson and suddenly dreading having to see the headmaster. 

"Keith! Shiro! Oh, how wonderful to see you again!" Keith tensed, silently cursing the Goddess because he was _not_  ready to see the man yet, he _just_  explained that!

"Headmaster Sokolov!" Shiro exclaimed, eyes wide, before he smiled and gave the older man a hug. "It's been far too long!" He said happily, and the Headmaster laughed softly.

"Yes, it has. Shiro, my boy, I'm so sorry about the whole thing this past year has brought you!" Headmaster Sokolov moved away, eyes sad and apologetic. Keith tried not to look at him, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"It was no fault of yours, sir. Besides, I'm here now, and can't change the fact I'm a Paladin now, so..." Shiro trailed off unsurely, but Headmaster Sokolov's expression brighten considerably. 

"Oh, so you are a Paladin!" He said excitedly, and Black cleared her throat. He jumped, surprised by the second robotic lion in the group even though Black was larger than Red. "Oh! And you are the Black Paladin!"

 _" **Can you hurry and give Shiro his armor already? We need to get going!"**_ Red snapped, curling around Keith's legs protectively. Headmaster Sokolov blinked owlishly at the lion before nodded, clapping his hands. "Alright then! Let's get the tailor her, this instant!" He said cheerfully, motioning for the boys to follow him. He opened the doof to the room off to the left and had them wait in his office while he ran a few doors down and called the tailor.

"Keith, why did he seem excited to see you, too?" Shiro asked when they were alone. Keith looked away, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Um, well.... It's kind of a long story?"

Shiro looked unimpressed, crossing his arms over his chest. "What happened, Keith?"

Keith tensed, biting his lip for a brief moment before sighing and mumbling, "I got kicked out."

Shiro's eyes widened, and he his arms dropped. "What?"

"I got kicked out." Keith said, clearer this time. "Iverson was- he was saying mean things about you and I couldn't stand by and watch! He was making up _lies_  about you, Shiro! He- He said that it was your own fault for getting you and the Holts lost in that tornado, and that you could have flown away at any time from it. I _saw_  you get pulled to the surface. I saw you get sucked into that tornado and he was _lying_  and I couldn't-" Keith hardly realized he was rambling in his need to explain himself to Shiro, but when Red nudged his leg he realized that he was spilling just a little too much. He paused, looking away. "It just...wasn't right. So, he got Headmaster Sokolov to kick me out.... It didn't help that I punched him." He said softly, turning away from Shiro to tug at the hem of his tunic.

"Keith..."

"Alright, where's Takashi Shirogane?" The tailor, a plump middle-aged man with rosy cheeks and a kind smile, said as he walked into the room ahead of the Headmaster. He let out a soft gasp as he walked over to Shiro, taking his hand and shaking it. "Oh, look at you! You've got buffer in the past year!"

Shiro smiled weakly, bowing his head a little in greeting. "Hi, Mr. Dennet. It's nice to see you too."

"It's great Rohan's you back, son. Now then, let me retake your measurements and I'll get started on your Black Paladin outfit right away! It'll be similar to Keith's outfit, but I'll be sure to keep it specifically you, alright?" He said with a hum, already taking Shiro's measurements and moving his arms around to get the proper ones. Shiro and Keith exchanged weary smiles, and after a few moment Mr.Dennet looked over to Keith, clicking his tongue. "Those almost look too big on you, Keith! Are you sure you don't need an adjustment?"

"No, no! They're fine, Mr. Dennet. I haven't changed in the past year, I assure you." Keith said quickly, which earned him a dry hum that said Mr. Dennet didon't believe him. He went back to focusing solely on Shiro, shrugging slightly as he made notes on a small notepad.

"Whatever you say.... Alright, Shiro, I'll just whip this up and you'll be ready to go within the next few hours!"

"Thank you, Mr. Dennet. I'll come back when it's done." Shiro said kindly, stepping back towards Keith, who was now waiting by the door. After the headmaster dismissed them, they left the room and Shiro looked pointedly at Keith even as he tried to look away. He knew Shiro was disappointed in him.

"Uh-oh, what happened?" Pidge asked, climbing up the stairs as they were heading down and meeting them halfway.

"Why didn't you guys tell me Keith got kicked out?" Keith winced as Pidge's eyes grew wide, looking between them in shock.

"You actually told him, Keith?" She asked, and he nodded weakly. "Huh." Pidge turned to face Shiro, then, and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Shiro, stop looking so upset. Iverson had it coming. If it makes you feel any better, Keith managed through three whole months of it before he finally snapped and sucker punched him."

Shiro was quiet for a few minutes, debating. He sighed, nodding a little, and Keith relaxed a bit. "Yeah, I guess it does." He murmured, smiling gently at Keith. "Sorry."

"No, I get it. It was stupid of me." Keith said with a sigh, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn't want to talk about it anymore. "Where should we go, now?"

"Well, we could go to the bazaar with Hunk and Lance." Pidge suggested, motioning towards the first floor's entrance. 

"Sounds like a good idea." Shiro smiled, and the three of them made their way to the bazaar.

\--------

When Shiro got his armor and had said hi to everyone in Skyloft once more, and everyone had their supplies restocked, they once again went to the temple. They smiled at Coran and Allura when they landed, happy to see the two. Keith's smile disappeared almost immediately, though, the dread and nervousness from before hitting him again almost full force.

 "We're back!" Lance cheered, pulling out a small pouch filled with pellets and tossing it to Coran. "We got you another pouch for slingshot ammo, Coran. And we got you two some shields." Hunk handed them the shields, and Allura smiled brightly.

"Aw, thanks guys!" She said happily, before looking at Shiro's outfit and gasping softly. "Oh, wow! You look great, Shiro!"

Shiro's armor now consisted of sleeveless black tunic shirt with purple thread embroidering a lion pattern on the back with silver stars around the pattern, with chain mail beneath it. His pants were dark gray and boot cut style, like Keith's were (although his were black in color). Personally, Keith thought it looked too similar to the temporary outfits the others were wearing, but he did agree that it looked great on Shiro. It fit him well.

Shiro laughed weakly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thanks Allura. I was surprised how quickly the tailor got it done, though."

"Shiro, he made three new sets of clothes and tweaked the design on one in the span of four hours." Lance stated with a small laugh. "He's a mastermind."

"With thread and a needle, yeah. He's pretty useless with everything else." Pidge commented with a roll of her eyes. "I've seen him trip and fall over air." Lance snickered at that, smirking. Keith noticed how his eyes seemed to flash mischievously, and he rolled his eyes, going to look for a way to open the temple door with Red.

He walked to the right of the temple, remembering there was a stone tablet there. He cut away the long grass and the monster plant in front of it, crouching close to read the faded text. "They who descend from above: look to the star that the bird rising heavenward gazes upon, and aim your shot there." He mumbled, frowning slightly.  He stood again, looking to Red. She simply grinned, sauntering back to the group. Keith followed, looking back at the temple door and studying it. He noticed how there was the picture of a bird pointing skyward carved into the stone, and he looked up at the ceiling. He hummed when he saw a ruby crystal hanging down, and he looked back at the group. "Hey, Coran?" He called, catching the tall man's attention.

"Oh! You found the way to open the temple door, did ya?" He said cheerfully, bounding up the steps to stand beside Keith. He nodded, pointing to the crystal.

"Yeah. Can you shoot it?" Keith asked, and when Coran said yes, he went down the steps to avoid the rebound of the pellet. When Coran shot the crystal, a "ding" could be heard as the crystal turned black and split into smaller crystals, and Coran moved away as the stone door shook before parting slowly, creaking and scrapping across the ground from so many years of disuse.

"Whoa. How did you know that would work?" Hunk asked, looking at Keith. Keith pointed towards the stone tablet. "I read the tablet over there." He stated simply, making Lance growl slightly. Red growled right back, and Keith nudged her paw with his foot. The group walked to the opening, looking down into the darkness that sucked away all light and made them lose sight of the stairs. Wind howled from the depths of the temple, foreboding and cold, and Keith could have sworn he heard someone laughing as well, sending shivers up his spine.

"...Do we have to go down there?" Hunk asked nervously, and Shiro nodded after a moment, taking a deep breath. "Alright, guys. Let's go."

 

**_Long story short: I tried to draw Keith in his outfit for the story.... It didn't turn out well. The squiggles are supposed to be flames... yeah, it's bad. I know. I'll do better next time, so let's just call this a rough draft. I also plan to do the others as well (I might wait until all five of them get their personalized armor/clothes, though)_ **

 


	9. Chapter 9

When they came across the first door in the dungeon, Lance nearly threw a fit.

"Who just puts _bars_ across the entrance to the temple?! What's the point if you can't even find the way to unlock them?!"

"There _is_ a way, Lance. Just calm down." Pidge sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "See, look. The vines behind those trees probably lead towards it." She suggested, pointing to the right of the locked door, where a ledge stood. A monster plant waited at the top, drooling and clicking as it watched the group. Lance shuddered in disgust, and Keith walked to the trees, slicing clean through their trunks. They toppled to the ground, giving Lance and Hunk a clean shot to the monster. Lance bowed playfully to Hunk, letting him shoot the monster in its mouth.

"Hey, so do those things have a name?" Hunk asked as the monster shrieked and died, and Allura hummed in thought.

"That's a good question! I believe they are called.... Deku-Babas. They aren't too dangerous, of course, but they do have a nasty bite and throw if you let it latch on."

"Oh."

Pidge climbed up the vines, then, and shouted down to them, "See, Lance! I told you there was a switch here!" A second later, there was the same "ding" that came from the crystal switch to open the temple doors, and Pidge nimbly leapt down from the ledge, grinning at a now pouting Lance as the door was unbarred. Shiro and Hunk moved to the door, pushing the rock up so that it slide into the gap it was made for. The group entered the room, the door closing behind them. Hunk gasped and Lance shrieked, nearly making Keith jump , as the eye carved into the wall blinked at them.

"Oh, that is not right!" Hunk said, his voice shaking as he stared in something akin to a mix of fear and awe.

Pidge stepped forward, and the eye closed tightly, not moving to open again. ".. I think it's this room's switch... I don't know how it works though." She said with a laugh as she and Allura walked up to the small podium. Red and Black wandered around to the front, where another barred door stood in wait.

Coran hummed, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Well now, let's see. what would catch it's attention?" He asked as the group spread out throughout the room.

"What about the relic up there?" Hunk asked, pointing to the shiny amber colored relic situated on the wall.

 _ **"It's worth a shot."**_ Black hummed, and Keith could picture her smirking smugly, like she knew something they didn't. Red leapt up, grabbing it gently in her maw and flying over to Allura. She gave it to the silver-haired woman, and Allura held it up to the eye but it didn't even budge. Keith watched from beside the door, studying the symbols of the eye on the wall as Allura shrugged and pocketed the relic. Red padded over to Keith, looking up at him.

 _ **"Any ideas, Keith?"**_ She asked, and Keith hummed slightly. "I don't know... Maybe."

"Oh, I got it! We need to make it dizzy!" Lance suddenly shouted, surprising the group from the sudden shout. He ran over to Keith, nearly shoving him up the steps. "Pull out your bayard! It might open for it!"

"Okay, I get it! Don't shove me, Lance!" Keith hissed, elbowing Lance away from him before pulling out his bayard and forming the sword. Immediately the eye popped open, it's sapphire iris staring right at the tip of Keith's sword.

"Do big circles." Shiro supplied from below, and Keith nodded, doing as he said once Allura and Pidge moved back. He made big sweeping circles with his sword arm, watching as the eye followed it closely. After a few spins, the eye turned red and spun much faster until a star-like symbol appeared in it, the eye closing and falling to the ground. Shiro quickly moved out of the way, avoiding being hit.

"Nice one, Lance!" Coran cheered, slinging an arm over Lance's shoulder and leading him to the door. the group walked through the door, Shiro using the glow of his bionic arm to kill the hanging plant monsters as they made their way into the next room.

Coran killed spiders crawling on the vines around the pathway they had come from, and Keith climbed up the vines to break the wooden boards up there. "Hey, it leads back to the entrance!" He commented loud enough for the others to hear before coming back down. Pidge and Black teamed up against the goblin-like monster blocking the path to the other doors. Coran strode to the center of the three-way path, looking at each door and then down the edge towards the door they weren't able to access. He hummed in thought, looking back to the door to the right.

Lance hopped down into the lower area of the room, seeing if there was anything there. "Hey guys!" He called from underneath the left path and that locked door. "I found the switch for this door, I think."

"And the switch for this door is right up here!" Coran said proudly, pointing to above the right side door.

They hit the switches at the same time, loud dings coming from the crystals as they unlocked the bars on the doors. Lance climbed back up, joining the rest of them on the path. "Which way do you want to go first?" He asked, and the group nearly shrugged unanimously.

"We could split up." Allura suggested, and Red hummed thoughtfully. _**"Would that be wise, though?"**_

 _ **"Let them do what they want, Red."**_ Black said with a laugh. _**"It won't harm you to split up, but we, personally, advise against it simply because we do not know what has taken refuge here since we last came with our chosen. Something only one of you can do may be waiting in the other room, and then splitting up would become a moot point."**_

"But we could get it done faster if we split up." Keith said after a moment and Red nodded in agreement. _**"Yes, you could. Again, the choice is yours, kitten."**_

Shiro was quiet through it all, but after a moment he nodded. "I think we should split up." He said calmly. "The faster we get this done, the better, right? If we do get stuck, just come back here and we can fix the problem together."

"Sounds good to me." Allura said with a smile. "Lance, Keith, Pidge and I will go to the right, while the rest of you go to the left. How does that sound?"

"I'm stuck with Keith again!?" Lance whined, pouting at Allura, who's smile didn't fade.

"Lance, at least one person with projectile weapons should be on each team, and you need to get used to working with Keith." Lance huffed in annoyance at her words, crossing his arms over his chest but walking dutifully to the door.

"Alright, fine."

Keith rolled his eyes, following after Lance and waiting by the door. He felt apprehensive about leaving Shiro's side, but knew it was probably for the best since it would mean someone with a lion was on each side. Still, the unease that had been steadily growing since they entered the temple made him weary. When they walked into the room, Keith ignored the sudden spike in unease and focused instead on a giant spider came down from the ceiling in front of a path leading to a stone tablet like the one outside.

"Let me show you three how to kill these guys." Allura grinned, going to the spider and giving the monster a roundhouse kick to expose the glowing purple spot on its abdomen before taking a dagger and stabbing it in the glowing spot. She jumped away when it tried to bite her and quickly lunged back in to deliver the finishing blow. The spider screeched before curling up as she moved away, falling from the silk strand it hung from and quickly poofing afterwards. Keith let out a low whistle, amazed.

"Wow, Allura!" Pidge said with a grin, walking over to her. "You're pretty strong!"

Allura laughed, smiling. "Oh, shush. That wasn't anything so amazing." She giggled, her smile only brightening. "Thank you, though."

"You're welcome!" Pidge hopped down to the ground, cutting away some of the grass, exposing a small passage way. Lance and Allura started to follow, confusing Keith. "Hey, wait. Guys, dont you want to read the tablet over there...?" He asked, following them. Lance and Allura looked back at him, confused, and looked at the path above them.

"Keith, nothing's there." Allura said softly, eyes worried.

"Did you hit your head when we weren't looking?" Lance asked, genuinely worried as he studied Keith and the place where the tablet should be. "Because that's like, the second time you've hallucinated something."

Keith opened his mouth to respond, but closed it a second later, shaking his head and sighing. "No, it's... it's nothing. Forget I said anything." He said, quickly following Pidge through the small passage way.

"What do you think the crystal does?" Pidge asked when he was inside, looking contemplatively up at the crystal high above them. Keith shrugged, looking to Red, who just looked at them after shaking herself off from crawling along the dirt floor.

 ** _"Let's just say this is my least favorite temple for more than one reason."_  **She said calmly, earning a small hum from Allura as she and Lance came through the opening. "That makes sense. This _is_ considered the water temple of this realm, and your element is fire." She explained, making Red stare at her for a few minutes. **".. _..Yeah, sure. Let's go with that._ " **Red said, flying up to the ledge beside the crystal with a small path of vines going up part of it. **_"Shoot the crystal, Lance!"_**

 "You don't have to tell me twice!" Lance said cockily, knocking an arrow and shooting it at the crystal. It activated, and almost immediately water filled the room. Lance cheered in excitement as Allura gasped, and Keith felt his stomach twist into uncomfortable knots as panic he didn't recognize gripped him. 

 _"Kitharas!"_  A voice shouted, and suddenly Keith found he couldn't _breathe_.

He scrambled to the vines, climbing out of the water and onto the ledge with Red, shaking as everything dulled a felt like he was submerged underwater. He choked on air, coughing and sputtering as Red pressed against him. He heard someone call his name as his vision tunneled, and he collapsed onto the cold stone beneath him, trying desperately to get air into his lungs.  

 _"Kitharas! Kitha, can you hear me?!"_ The voice shouted, worry and panic filling every syllable, and he felt the phantom press of hands on his chest, pushing down in fast, short bursts. _"Come on, Kitharas! Breathe!"_ Keith felt the phantom press of lips against his and there was a sudden rush of air into his lungs, and suddenly he found he could breathe again. He lurched forward, coughing and gagging as his forehead pressed against the cold stone beneath him.

"Keith!" Pidge shouted, making him slowly lift his head. His chest hurt, and he felt dizzy. Pidge, Allura, and Lance were watching him, worried.

"Dude, are you okay?" Lance asked, helping Keith sit up. Red nuzzled Keith's cheek apologetically, and he hit with the realization Red knew that might happen.

"I-I'm okay." He rasped, coughing once more as he started to stand. "Let's head back to the others." His kneeds were weak as he stood, and Red pressed close against his side in order to keep him upright. Lance and Pidge shouted their disapproval.

"Are you crazy?! Keith, you suddenly couldn't breathe! You do realize how bad that is, don't you?" Pidge asked, but Keith ignored her. 

"I'm _fine_ , Pidge!" Keith snapped, before heading through the door. 

"Keith!" Keith flinched at the sudden call, looking across the room to Shiro, who was striding towards him with panic in his eyes. "Are you okay? What happened in there?" He asked quickly, unusually panicked as Hunk and Coran followed close behind. 

"I'm fine, Shiro. Nothing happened." Keith lied, looking at Shiro with confusion. 

"If you call choking on air and falling to the ground barely breathing 'fine', then I worry for your health, Keith." Allura stated as the rest of the group came through the door behind Keith. 

"Wait, _what?!_ " Hunk asked, eyes growing worried. "What happened back there?!"

" _Nothing_  happened, alright!? Can we just get through this temple already?" Keith snapped, moving away from Shiro only to be stopped by a tight grip on his wrist. "Let me go, Shiro."

"Not until you explain."

"There's nothing to explain!" He growled, tearing away from his grip. Shiro looked disheartened, but Keith simply strode towards one of the logs floating in the water and jumped onto it, walking to the vines on the wall and climbing them. Something was up here, and it was far away from the rest of the group. He could hear them conversing quietly, and he knew the others were talking about what just occurred. 

Keith frowned when he saw that it was only a door , sighing softly. Are they seriously about to go back into the room they just came from? He sat down against the wall, petting Red as she sat next to him. "...The original Red Paladin nearly died in there, didn't he?" He asked softly and Red nodded.

**_"The Galrans lived beneath the earth, which meant they did not have any bodies of water that required an ability to swim. Zarkon used that to his advantage here, and he created those switches that cause water to rise. Before, there were no such things. The water stayed at the level it is now. Zarkon knew that his son could not swim, so he created those switches as a trap. The Paladins had no idea what was happening until mine was already drowning after a water monster pulled him further under."_ **

_"_ Did Shiro feel something similar?" Keith asked, and Red nodded. **_"...I assume so, yes. He would have felt the Original Black Paladin's panic and fear."_**

"That's terrible." Keith clutched at his chest, feeling his heart beat and trying to ignore the ache he felt. "I... I could feel his panic... I could _hear_  the Black Paladin's voice...." Keith looked to Red, frowning slightly. "Red, were their names Kitharas and Takashi?"

 _ **"You're a smart one."** _  Red commented with a pleased hum, nodding. _**"Yes, their names were Kitharas and Takashi....They are the ones who appear in your dreams, yes?"** _ He nodded, and Red sighed. **_"To be honest, I hoped you would not figure it out until much later."_**

"Why?" 

Red shrugged, looking down for a moment. **_"It just felt... Wrong for you to learn this so early in your journey., since you don't know most of what's going on."_**

Keith nodded, looking back at the others that were making their way to where he was. "What about the others?"

 _ **"Tell them in your own time. You still have much to learn, and it will not harm any of you if you don't tell them."**_ Red explained, standing with Keith when the others joined him at the door. Shiro was looking at him, worry in his eyes, but he didn't mention what Keith knew he knew. Didn't question why he kept it secret, just stared at him with worry and the tiniest flicker of disappointment. Keith looked down, motioning towards the door. "I think this leads to the other side of the room from where the spider monster and stone tablet was.

"There wasn't a tablet, Keith!" Lance groaned in annoyance, striding through the door a moment later. Keith and the others followed, hearing a spider monster screech and collapse to the floor, dead. Lance grinned at the group, before mock bowing to Keith, motioning towards the locked away chest against the wall. Keith activated his bayard when he saw two more of those eye monster things. He walked to the center of the room, making sure both eyes were open and able to follow the shine of his sword. He spun it in wide circles, and the eyes got dizzy a moment later, falling to the ground and bursting into ash. The bars in front of the chest slid up with a screech, and Pidge walked to the chest, opening it with ease.

"You know, it's very odd that none of these chests are properly locked." She commented, holding up a simple metal key. "Guess where this goes?" She said proudly, smirking a bit.

"The last room in the previous one, right?" Hunk smiled as Pidge nodded, walking to the door with her. "Great! We're about halfway done!" He cheered, the others nodding in agreement.

"I think we should take a break in the next room." Coran suggested, looking at the others as they made their way out of the room. "I believe it's around lunch time, and we don't know when we'll be able to rest again after that room."Allura and the lions nodded in agreement.

"Better safe than sorry." Shiro said after a moment, and Keith had to agree.

\------

The next room was a startling contrast to the previous rooms- the walls weren't gray and lit tinted blue thanks to bioluminescent mushrooms, but instead had the afternoon sunshine spilling in front the top, the stone a light brown, almost sandy color with a towering dome room in the center. Pillars of all heights circled the large room, and carvings covered each and every surface. Bats circled parts of the ceilings, and the giant spiders hung, waiting for their pray. Keith felt shivers crawl up his spine, and he saw Shiro tense a little as he look around, suddenly on edge. Keith wondered if anything happened in this room, and if he would feel it as badly as he had felt the drowning.

Coran stepped forward, aiming his slingshot at the crystal above the blocked doorway to the dome. "You kids up for one last fight before a break?" He asked, shooting the crystal with pinpoint accuracy.

After everyone gave a sound of agreement, they all went into the domed room. Hunk jumped and Keith tensed as bars came down again, growls escaping Black and Red as the pile of bones in front of them formed into a towering skeleton with armor and two sword. The skeleton was tall, eyes glowing golden as it roared and chattered. Fangs replaced its canines, and the skull was shaped a bit differently to a humans. Keith shuddered as for a moment, it was covered in dark blue skin and jagged scales going from the top of the man's head down his back. He looked similar to a lizard, or maybe a dinosaur. His ears were long and pointy, and he had red, red irises.

 _ **"Zarkon animated his corpse?!"**_ Red snarled, jumping away with Keith when the skeleton swung one of his sword at them. Keith activated his bayard, moving in for an attack with Red and Shiro at his side. The skeleton raised its hands high into the air,  bringing the heavy swords back down with a shockwave that made everything shake. Red growled and roared, swiping her claws at the skeleton's ribcage. There was a crack, and some parts of the ribs fell to the ground, but it did not stop its assault on the group. Shiro stumbled back as one of its swords blocked and shoved away Shiro's mechanical hand completely unaffected by the glowing purple. Shiro's eyes turned empty as he stumbled, a look Keith _knew_ wasn't good and was caused by a flashback.

"Shiro!"He cried out as the skeleton moved to slash Shiro's chest. He quickly got in front of his frozen partner, holding up his bayard as the skeleton's swords came crashing down onto it. Keith winced at the loud screech of metal that filled the air. "Shiro, are you okay?!" He asked, risking a glance behind himself when he caught sight of Pidge darting to the skeleton's back. Hunk and Lance were trying to get the skeleton's attention off Shiro and Keith, shooting arrows at it. It barely noticed them, though.

The skeleton chattered angrily as Pidge slashed at its spine, and Keith gasped as the pressure against his bayard disappeared, unable to react in time as the skeleton's top half spun violently in a circle and knocked the six attackers back. The lions yelped as they were knocked away, and Pidge grunted on impact with the ground. Keith winced as he landed on top of Shiro, feeling a trickle of blood down his side where the sharper and deadlier of the swords had caught him and cut clean through the chainmail he wore. "Shiro, are you okay?!" He asked again, sitting up and rolling off the taller male as Allura and Coran took their place. Shiro groaned at sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

"What was that?" He mumbled, looking at Keith with that same confused look he had back at Takashi's old home.

"Shiro!" Lance shouted, glancing at them as he fired arrow after arrow. Some were getting stuck in the skeleton's body, and its moves were turning sluggish. "Are you and Keith alright?"

"We're fine, Lance!" Keith shouted back, being sure not to expose the cut on his side to Lance or Shiro. He got up at the sound of more bone cracking, hearing Coran let out a whoop of excitement.

"One arm down, another to go!" Hunk cheered, taking out one of the small bombs in his pouch and lighting it. "Everyone move back!" He said, and everyone around the skeleton did as told. Hunk tossed the bomb, grinning as it exploded and the Skeleton let out angry chatter and a loud screech of pain. When the smoke disappeared, it was down another arm. Keith grinned, and he lunged forward, slicing clean through the rest of the skeleton's spine. The Skeleton seized up, cried once more, and crumpled to the ground, the bones disappearing into ash. Keith sighed, brushing sweaty hair out of his face as Pidge did much the same thing while crouching in front of the armor.

"I've never seen this armor before... or these swords." She said, a little impressed.

"It's Galran." Allura explained, taking her long, long hair in her hands and twisting it around into a tight bun. "This must have been a soldier at one point." She said, bending down a little to see the armor and swords as well. Coran walked over, but Keith's attention was diverted from them to the far wall in the room, where a ball of light was forming.

"Guys, look!" Hunk said quickly, pointing to the ball of light.

The ball of light blinked out of existence, leaving a big treasure chest in its wake. "Oh, good! A treasure chest!" Lance said with a grin, striding over to it. "I bet it has a way out of this room!" When he opened the chest though, the excitement and hope in his eyes turned to confusion as he pulled out a golden yellow and emerald mechanical beetle. "How the heck is this supposed to help us?" He asked, and Keith shrugged. Hunk hummed, tapping his chin as he walked over and studied the beetle.

"Boys, might I suggest before doing anything else we relax? We know it's safe in here now." Allura said with a small smile. "We've been fighting and walking all morning and afternoon, we deserve a break after a fight like that."

"That's the smart thing to do." Shiro said, smiling at Hunk as he continued, " You can figure out how the beetle works while we eat."

The others agreed, and Keith was more than happy to sit down. They all spread out around the room, most just sitting down where they stood. Everyone was tired, especially those that fought close quarters with the Skeleton. Red's expression was not pleased when she sniffed Keith and came across the wound on his side, which he was admittedly planning on keeping secret as long as he could. _**"Keith..."**_ She said slowly, voice giving a subtle warning, _**"The paladin issue is one thing, this is an entirely different matter."**_

"What's entirely different?" Hunk asked, walking over with a bowl with some pumpkin soup in it. He handed it to Keith even though he didn't respond, and Keith tried to cover the wound with the hand not holding the bowl.

"It's nothing, Hunk." Keith said softly, but Red scoffed. _**"Yeah, we're not doing that this time. Hunk, sweetheart, can you grab the bandages out of Keith's bag and as stealthily as possible patch it up? He's stubborn and doesn't want the others to know., but I'd feel better if it was covered by something."**_

"Red!" Keith hissed, unwillingly feeling heat creep up his cheeks in embarrassment. Hunk's eyes grew wide for a moment as he looked to where Keith's hand was, and he nodded.

"Oh! Sure, sure. No problem." He said quietly, and after Keith glared at the two for a moment, he knew he wasn't going to win this fight and moved his hand away, allowing Hunk access to his wound.

"Bandages are in the left hand pouch." He mumbled, and a second later Hunk was carefully lifting Keith's shirt and chainmail just enough to place a white rectangle of cotton padding with a faint amount of disinfectant soaked in on top of the cut, keeping it in place with sticky medical tape. Keith hissed at the sensation, pulling his shirt and the chainmail back down as quickly as he could.

"There, that wasn't bad now was it?" Hunk chuckled, rolling his eyes a little and patting Keith's head. "Let me know if it still hurts after we get out of here and I can fix it up when we're back at Skyloft."

Keith was quiet, silently brooding that Red made someone else do what he could have done perfectly well by himself. Hunk stood and turned to walk back over to where his own things were. "...Thanks Hunk." Keith relented after a moment, missing the smile that Hunk had as he walked back to his spot.

 _ **"You are such a baby."**_ Red teased, laughing as Keith mock-shoved her to the side.

"Shut up, I could have done that without help, you know." He grumbled, picking up the bowl of soup and starting to eat it. _**"You also would have let yourself get beat up until you passed out. Don't forget, Kitharas was a lot like you."**_

"I know nothing about the Red Paladin except what you've told me."

 _**"You'll find out more, don't worry."**_ Red chuckled, resting her head on his lap. Her tail thumped happily when Black and Shiro walked over. "You okay?" Keith asked, looking up at Shiro.

"I'm fine. Just... had a vision, I guess. Are you okay? You blocked the Skeleton's blow from hitting me." He said with a smile as he situated himself next to Keith.

"Oh, yeah, I'm okay. It's nothing to worry about, Shiro." Keith said softly, going back to his soup and finishing it off. He set the bowl down beside him, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Shiro, you felt the tremors at the Sealed Temple, didn't you?"

Shiro was quiet for a few minutes, sighing soon after. "Yeah, I did. I also saw a tablet in that room... there was one in the one I had gone in with Coran and Hunk, but they didn't see it either."

"Do you know what's going on?" Keith asked softly and Shiro shook his head. "Do you want to know?"

"Maybe...." Shiro said slowly, sighing again as he placed his mechanical hand slowly on Keith's shoulder. "Actually, I came over here to talk to you about when we were split up, and you..."

"It was nothing, really. The others are making it into a big deal but it was-"

"Stop saying it was nothing, Keith!" Shiro said sternly, frowning at him. Keith flinched, bringing his knees to his chest and curling into a ball. Shiro sighed, running his hand through his hair before giving Keith's shoulder a squeeze. "Keith, you nearly suffocated, without something choking you or drowning in the water. Pidge said you just collapse to the ground, having trouble breathing. If this is some sort of medical-"

"Just drop it, Shiro!" Keith snapped, finally shrugging off Shiro's hand and glaring weakly at the black paladin. "It's not some sort of medical condition and you know it! So unless you also know what's going on, just stay out of it." Keith wasn't sure where this flash of anger and annoyance at Shiro had come from, but it felt good to lash out slightly, to snap at something even though it wasn't Zarkon.

He blamed it on the lack of sleep he's been given the past two weeks, on the visions and the nightmares and all the fighting he's been doing. Shiro blinked owlishly at him for a few moments, surprised by the outburst, and a few moments later he sighed. "Alright, then. Just... Let me know when you want to talk."

 _"It'll be explained eventually, Shiro."_  Black assured her paladin, nudging him gently while Red curled herself around Keith. _"Just give Keith time. I told you this already."_ Keith forced himself not to smile at the scolds Shiro was given, and Black nudged Shiro to his feet. **_"Now then, after that outburst, I think it wise to give him some space."_**

 _"Black's on your side."_  Red hummed, looking at Keith as he watched Shiro and Black walk over to Pidge. He watched as Shiro sat down and gave Pidge his bionic arm, letting her examine it. **_"Shiro's just worried about you, but for some reason, he isn't as in tune with the past as you are... He still needs time to remember and see it all."_**

"Honestly, Red?" Keith sighed, frowning slightly as he looked at his lion. "I still need to sort everything out, too."


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize if things come off as stale or rushed. I don't want to give too much away at once since I've got like five more "dungeons" to go, and everything gets kind of repetitive in each of them, so I'm just trying to get them done so we can continue with ease and not get super bored. Also Keith is tired and going through flashback moments. He's not super focused on everything right now, so that's reflecting a bit in writing.
> 
> If the characters are OoC, I apologize. I'm trying my best to merge canon personalities with personalities that fit my story, so everything's a bit here or there. I like to think I'm doing good though.

Although they knew that the fate of the world was at hand, the group of heroes stayed in the safety of the dome room for a good few hours, resting and trying to figure out how to work the mechanical beetle,  then who was allowed to take ownership of said beetle. Keith took the time to try and catch up on sleep- key word being _tried._ To his dismay, the sounds of the others in the room talking and occasionally arguing were just loud enough to keep him wide awake, and the emotions left swirling in his chest from the first Red Paladin didn't make it any easier. So, he just laid down on the floor next to Red, closed his eyes, and listened.

He listened to the sounds of the others talking, to the sounds of the spiders and the soldier-like monsters that were outside the room, waiting for them. He listened to the voices echoing throughout the temple, the scared words and desperation, the laughs and playful teases that the paladins left behind. He tried his best to ignore the more menacing whispers the temple held.

"Ah, I've got it!" Hunk cheered a few moments later, startling Keith from his mock-sleep. He sat up, looking towards the bigger male and seeing him grin as he placed the bracelet the beetle rested on onto his wrist. "Keith, you're awake?" He asked when he saw Keith was sitting up, and he nodded in response.

"Was never really asleep." He admitted, and Hunk gave him an apologetic smile.

"I see."

"Hunk!" Lance whined, tapping his friend's arm. "Show us how to use the beetle already!" Hunk laughed, nodding, and explained how to use it while he showed them.

Hunk lifted his arm, aiming for the hole in the roof of the dome, covered by a spider web. "Okay, so you aim it, like this, and then you press this button here, on the back of the bracelet right behind the beetle to make it fly." He pressed the button and the beetle took off towards the hole. "It's got some sort of connection with the bracelet, so you can move it around by moving your arm." Hunk did as he explained, a small screen popping up on the bracelet to show where the beetle was going. He continued to explain the rest as he hit the crystal on the other side of the door, the bars locking them in disappearing. "And viola! We're able to escape the room, and the beetle returns magically!" He said with a grin, right as the beetle materialized back onto the bracelet. He took it off and held it up. "Now, who would like ownership?"

"I'll take it!" Lance said excitedly, grinning. "I have the best aim out of everyone!"

"That is true." Pidge confirmed, her own smile bright and excited as she stood up. "Let Mr. Perfect-aim here take it so that we can get going before we decide to stop again in order to sleep.

With no one disagreeing to Lance having ownership of the beetle, Hunk handed it over, explained where the buttons were once again, and the group left the room. Lance immediately started using the beetle to do things and find the switch to open the next door, while the rest of the group fought the monsters in the area. They split up, each one taking on a different monster or two. Quickly enough the familiar sound of the monsters turning to ash rang through the room, quickly followed by Lance's cheer. "Alright, guys! We go this way!" He shouted as they all came back over to him, before walking towards a door with a statue beside it.

Lance fell into the back of the group when they opened the door and went through, since he was best with a bow and arrow, and Keith found himself going back up to the front instead of the middle. When they made it into the next room, none of them were all that surprised when they were once again trapped in by bars. Shiro ran forward as a spider descended from the ceiling, finishing it off in two seconds flat. The bars blocking their exit went away, and the group stepped further into the room to see if they could find a way to make the eye monsters keeping the chest sealed look at Keith all at once.

"I'm not tall enough to get the third one to see me." Keith said with a sigh as he pulled out his bayard. The two eyes at the bottom locked onto his sword greedily, but the third, even when standing on his tip-toes, remained stubbornly closed.

Lance hummed as he looked around, noticing a heavy-looking cube hanging from a spider web on the balcony above them. "I could knock down that block and we could bring it down here for him to stand on." He suggested, pointing to the block in question. Pidge looked at the block and then Keith, and shrugged. "Sure. Think you can bring it down yourself?"

"Hey! I have muscle!" Lance snapped, although it held no actual bite to it, making his way over to the wall with vines on it. "Just watch!"

"I was just going to suggest one of us go to help you, geez!" Pidge groaned, although the smirk she had said she meant for her question to be a jab with no actual bite.

Red huffed, and Keith had a feeling that if she had arms, she'd be crossing them. _**"Aw, that's no fun! I was going to suggest Shiro put Keith on his shoulders!"**_

Keith felt his cheeks flare red, and he looked at Red. "What? Why?" He asked as the others laughed.

Black chuckled, lightly swatting at her counterpart while Shiro hid his face in one of his hands. _**"That's what the original paladins did, although Red's protested for a full five minutes before he accepted."**_ She explained, amusement in her voice. _**"I think Red here just wanted a repeat."**_

_**"It was cute!"** _

"Hey, the cube's ready!" Lance called from where he stood, the cube he pushed down from the balcony awaiting further movement.

"Thanks Lance!" Coran called up, striding over to the cube with Allura and Pidge. Together, they positioned the cube in the center of the room, and Keith stood on the blocks. The third eye popped open, and after making two circles with his bayard, the eyes grew dizzy and fell to the ground before exploding. Shiro went into the small cove with the chest, opening it and pulling out a key while Keith jumped down from the cube and put away his bayard.

Shiro smirked proudly as he came back over, catching Keith off guard and making his heart race. It had been a long time since he had last seen Shiro smirk, much less genuinely look that confident, and he had completely forgotten just how well it fit him. He looked away when he felt heat start creeping up to his cheeks while Shiro held up the key, the smirk still on his face. "I know exactly where this goes." He said confidently, pocketing it a moment later.

"Great! Let's go, then!" Allura said excitedly, clapping her hands and leaving the room.

The rest of them followed and Keith felt a sudden sense of dread when he saw that they'd need to go up to the higher level of the ruined steps in order to get back to the main room.

Lance used the beetle to hit a crystal switch further away on the upper level, and Keith's fears came true. The room began to fill with water, and he quickly grabbed Red in order to keep himself grounded. He told himself that everything was fine, he could swim, it wasn't even that much water. He tried not to let the Red Paladin's fear consume him again. He quickly went with Red to the ledge of the steps, scrambling onto them and ignoring how he could feel everyone's eyes on his back, like he was about to once again choke on air. He went ahead of the group back into the other room, wanting to get away from the water as quick as possible. He sighed softly, rubbing the back of his neck when they came through the door and the dread in his chest lightened considerably.

 "Can we hurry up, please?" He snapped, looking away when the Shiro's expression quickly turned into one of relief.

"Yeah, of course." Shiro breathed, leading the group to the door the key was for. They made their way across the short tightrope that lead to the door, and Shiro unlocked the door.

As they made their way through the short hallway and cut away the wooden planks blocking their paths, Keith's steps faltered as he heard the sound of talking.

_"Father, are you sure this... thing is going to be enough to stop them?"_

_A gruff voice Keith recognized scoffed, growling slightly. "Please, Lotor, you act as if this won't put a dent in their movements."_

_"It's a_ snake _, father. What good does it do when both of them can kill it in seconds?!"_

_"One of its heads is embedded with my magic- something very poisonous to that annoying godling. The others with poison. If either of them get bit, they'll surely be stopped."_

"Keith?" Keith blinked, looking at who called his name. Allura was standing beside him, her hand hovering over his shoulder as she looked at him with worry. "Are you alright?"

"Oh.... Sorry, Allura." He said softly, looking away after a moment. "I just... thought I heard something."

Allura frowned, studying Keith's face for a few minutes, but a shout from Lance cut her off. They looked towards the others, and Keith cursed when he saw them fighting some sort of snake monster with three heads. Lance was looking over at Allura and Keith, his expression turning into a glare as it landed on Keith. "A little help, you two?!"

"Sorry, Lance! We're coming!" Allura reassured, and the two joined the fray.

"Don't let it bite you, whatever you do!" Keith shouted over the hisses, growls and clangs of weapons on the skulls covering the monster's heads. "I think they might be venomous!" He lobbed off one of the heads, causing the monster to rear back with a screech. A new head appeared, however, and the monster attacked with a new ferocity.

"Pidge, Keith! On the count of three, each of us cut off a head!" Shiro shouted, and the others nodded.

"I got the one on the far left!" Pidge shouted, and Shiro took the one of the far right. "On the count of three! One!"

"Two!"

"Three!" The moment Shiro shouted three, they each swung their weapons, cutting clean through the necks of the creature and cutting off its cry. The door across from them opened when the monster turned to dust, and Pidge looked to Keith curiously.

"How did you know it was venomous?" She asked, and Keith looked down, crossing his arms over his chest.

When he didn't respond, Pidge sighed. "Why are you so secretive lately, dude?"

"You wouldn't believe me." Keith stated simply, walking towards the door. A hand around his wrist forces him to stop though, and he sighs. He turns back around, seeing that Shiro was the one holding his wrist.

"Keith..." Shiro began, and Keith simply shook his head. "Keith, you need to tell us what's going on. You're worrying us."

Keith groaned, throwing his head back and staring at the ceiling. "Fine." He said irritably, looking back at the rest of the group. "You want to know why I have a feeling that snake is venomous? Its because I heard Zarkon and his son talking about it, way back when the first paladins were here."

Like he expected, everyone but the lions stare at him like he's gone crazy. Black feels to be rather awed by the situation, and Red just has the feeling that she's worried. Keith growled, stomping his foot on the ground. "See! I told you!" He snapped, heading towards the door after tearing his wrist free from Shiro's grip. "I'm going on ahead."

"Wait, Keith!" He doesn't listen to Shiro's concerned call, opening the door and stepping through it with Red at his side. He walked up the flight of stairs and killed the solider waiting at the top. He started walking down the path and stopped when he came across the spider monster blocking his path. He was about to throw one of his less important daggers at the web in order to free the path and jump across, but Red tapped his leg and shook her head.

_**"Keith, you need to wait."** _

"I don't want to wait. I'm ready to get out of here." Keith snapped, although he grudgingly went to the wall and sat down against it. Red sighed, resting her head in his lap. _**"I know, kitten. Kitharas had the same problems."**_

Keith laughed bitterly, crossing his arms over his chest. "Really? His Takashi didn't believe him and made him want to get as far away as possible?"

Red sighed heavily, shaking her head. _**"He was plagued by nightmares often, had premonitions and those small inklings that something was going to happen that you have. His teammates did not believe him often, called him paranoid. Only after this dungeon did Takashi truly believe him, but had they not been prepared, the entire team would be dead. With little sleep in his system, Kitharas would be irritable and more reckless than usual, and he would get hurt much more often."**_

"And you don't want that happening to me?" Keith guessed, and Red nodded. _**"And I don't want that happening to you.... Tonight, I hope you get a proper rest. I'll try my best to keep Zarkon out of your dreams."**_

Keith smiled bitterly at his lion, petting her and giving her a small hug. "I can't make any promises." He said softly, laughing slightly when a metal tongue licked his cheek. The small good mood he felt disappeared when he heard footsteps, and he remembered again why he really wished they were closer to the end than they currently were. He stood up, sighing heavily. "Lance, can you cut the spider web, please?" He asked, pointing to the giant spider blocking the path. Lance nodded, cutting away the thread with the beetle. The spider fell into the ravine below it, and Keith heard Hunk audibly gulp. Keith backed up a bit and jumped across the ravine, digging his fingers into the rock across from him and pulling himself up. "Come on, guys!" He called, waving them over. Lance jumped across next, then Shiro, Hunk, Pidge, Allura, and finally Coran.

They made their way to the next area, and Keith felt relief flood through him at the sight of a door that was different from the rest.

"Oh thank the goddess!" Hunk nearly cried, "We're almost done!"

"Yep! We just need to get to the puzzle piece for the door, fight one last monster, get the next piece of the tablet, and the next lion!" Coran said cheerfully as he balanced on the tightrope, waiting for the monster in front of the door to start crossing so that he could shoot it into the ravine below. Pidge killed the next one that was coming after them.

"Where is the key?" Shiro asked, and Black answered for him.

 _ **"On the other side of that wall, there. Someone needs to swing across some vines and rope in order to get to it.... Who would like to go?"**_ Black asked, looking at the paladins and their guides. Hunk made an X with his arms, silently pleading not to go, and Keith shrugged. He wouldn't mind going, but if someone else wanted to they could.

"I'll go." Pidge said with a grin, going over to Coran. "Can I borrow the slingshot?"

"Of course, Pidge!" Coran handed her the slingshot, and Pidge went across the rope. Keith watched as she made her way to the key, swinging effortlessly from the vines. He was genuinely impressed, feeling like she was in her element, swinging from vine to vine, like Lance when he was in water. He and the others made their way across the tightrope, meeting her at the door when she came back with the puzzle piece.

"One key, ready for the fitting." She said cheekily, grinning as she held up the golden key. Lance and Hunk cheered, hugging the small girl.

"Alright! One last monster to go!" Lance shouted happily, letting go of Pidge as Hunk lifted her up off the ground as he hugged her. Pidge laughed patting Hunk's arms.

"Hunk, I can't breathe." Pidge said, voice a little choked up from lack of air. Hunk immediately set her down, holding up his hands and flushing in embarrassment.

"Sorry, I just got super excited." He apologized, smiling sheepishly as Pidge stepped forward to put the key into its hole.

When she put it in all the way, a small click sounded before the edges glowed gold, the cracks from the hole disappearing and merging with the rest of the door before it started to open. The lion symbol in the center circle slid back, connecting with the golden ring around it, which then began to turn until it too stopped with a click. The key's edges flashed again, and with the flash, the key disappeared and the door was cracked open before slowly opening themselves. Keith felt trepidation and excitement mixing with his nervousness, and he bit his lip, forcing himself not to reach back for his wrapped knife as he looked into the darkened room they were about to enter.

Walking into the room was, in a way, ominous. Something deep inside Keith was desperately telling him to run away, felt fear embedded deep into his bones even though that was something he refused to let get in his way. A glance at Shiro said he was feeling the same. When they were in the center of the room, no monster appeared, and the lion symbol lined the back wall as a door leading to the tablet and the next bayard.

"So... Where's the monster....?" Lance asked. A moment later there was a blinding flash of purple light, and when it faded Black and Red immediately got in front of their paladins, growling menacingly.

The monster had arrived.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the super late update! This chapter was actually really hard to write, since there were so many ways I could have written it and gone, but none of them flowed as well as I hoped.
> 
> I also had really bad writer's block, and life got in the way, but that's mostly over and done with now. To be fair, I expect most boss battles to go like this; me having an idea of where I want to go, no idea how to get there smoothly, and struggling to write a proper fight scene.
> 
> I don't think these will ever take two+ months to write again, but I also have a lot of projects going on right now so idk. Hopefully I'll be able to go back to posting about every 2 days.

Keith blinked spots from his vision, eyes widening and heart pounding painfully in his chest as he looked at the person who just arrived.

A tall, lavender-skinned male with long white hair reaching his waist stood in front of them, dressed in dark purple and red armor that gleamed wealth, his eyes glowing gold. Keith's chest ached almost violently, and he forced himself not to palm the area that hurt. His instincts were torn between running and fighting, and when he glanced at Shiro, he saw the same conflict in his eyes.

"Well, well...." The male sneered, eyes narrowing as he turned to face the group. "Look who it is- the Omega Prince and his little godling friend." His words dripped with venom, and Keith felt chills run down his spine. This man was familiar. He was dangerous. The man blinked, a cheshire grin splitting his face in half. "Oh, forgive me. You aren't those insufferable fools. You look different from them."

"What the heck are you talking about?" Lance snapped, and the man's gaze turned from Keith and Shiro to the others with surprise, as if he was noticing them for the first time.

"Oh? All five were sent this time?" He seemed to mentally count their numbers, and he frowned, before his eyes widened. "Well my oh my, Princess Allura and her faithful attendant. Still doing the bidding of the Goddess, I see."

Allura and Coran glared at the man, who smirked like he was holier than them and laughed. "This is wonderful! I get to kill all of you in one fell swoop!"

 _" **Don't you dare touch them!** " _Black snarled, and the man's grin turned maniacal before he disappeared in a flash.

Before the group could so much as turn their heads, Keith froze as he felt a blade against his throat and a presence pressed right up against his back, surrounding him with a thick layer of uncomfortable heat. Lance and Hunk let out startled yelps, Allura gasped, and the entire group took a few steps back. Black and Red turned around, and Red whimpered.

**_"Keith!"_ **

"You look so much like my revolting younger brother... Are you sure you aren't him?" The male breathed into his ear, and Keith had to try very hard to suppress a shiver. The male's blade pressed further into his throat, a quick, sharp pain accompanying a warm trickle that started to slip down towards his collar bones.

"Let go of him!" Shiro snapped, his bionic hand starting to glow. The man looked at the group, seeing how each of them looked ready to attack him for the sake of their Red Paladin. He laughed then, resting his head on Keith's shoulder and looking at the others from around his scythe's edge.

"Oh please, I could kill all of you before you so much as blink, if I really wanted to." He spat, and Keith openly shuddered, disgust and anger clear on his face as those very emotions ran rampant in his chest as whispers of memories not belonging to him swirled in his head.

"Get your disgusting paws off me, Lotor!" He snarled, the foreign name rolling off his tongue with too much ease, his hand grabbing his dagger and twisting around faster than Lotor could react, slashing his clothes and nearly stabbing his stomach as Lotor's scythe very nearly cut off his head. Keith vaguely heard Allura gasp behind him, but he was now focused solely on the Galran in front of him, purple-gray eyes locked with bright, bright gold. The Galran's hand was on the slash Keith's knife made clean through the armor, removing his hand and breaking eye contact to look at it with amused curiosity. 

"Well now, you're an interesting one." He said softly, tilting his head to the side as he grinned and looked at Keith. "Are you really not Kitharas? He's the only one who ever dared speak to me like that."

"Keith...?" Coran asked slowly, voice distant to Keith as he continued, almost drowned out by all the flashes of memories not belonging to Keith filled his head and made his desire to fight and possibly _maim_ the Galran in front of him for what he had done, his anger blurring out all but the Galran and the faint sound of, "How do you know his name?" from Coran's worried voice.

"What you've done is unforgivable. I'll have your head for this!" Keith growled, and Lotor blinked in surprise before throwing his head back and letting out large, loud guffaws, gripping at his stomach.

" _You?!_ Have _my_ head?! Has your puny human brain gone dead?" Lotor cackled, wiping imaginary tears from his eyes. "There's no way you can hurt me! My own _brother_ couldn't hurt me!"

 ** _"I remember things going differently, you brat!"_** Red snapped, and suddenly it felt like Keith's head had cleared, no more memories coming to the surface and he felt like he could hear his own thoughts again. _**"Kitharas should have killed you!"**_

"Ah, but he didn't." Lotor smirked knowingly, laughing a bit before pointing his sword at Keith. "You. You interest me." He grinned, exposing all his fangs. "I'll leave you and your friends alone for now, but the next time we meet, I expect a fight!"

Keith growled, and Lotor let out a low chuckle, smile turning into something of adoration but still mixed with malice as he lowered his sword. "Good. Channel that omega brother of mine. It won't make things any easier for you. Sendak!" He snapped the name, looking behind his shoulder. Another Galran appeared, this one more furry and broad-shouldered than Lotor. An arm was missed, replaced with a large cybernetic that rivaled Shiro's in its advanced origins. He was kneeling, one hand over his heart as he bowed his head.

"Yes, My Prince?"

Lotor motioned to the group with his sword, looking almost bored as a lock of white hair fell from his shoulder to mix with the mass on his back. "Take care of them, would you? I don't want them getting any further."

At the new Galran's nod, Lotor gave the group a ferocious smile before disappearing in a spiral of red and black, even as Lance let out an offended shout; "Hey! Come back and fight us you coward!"

Hunk gulped ad grabbed Lance, placing a hand over his mouth. "Lance!" He hissed harshly. "Don't offend the guy who teleports!"

Lance grumbled but made no move to continue his threat, instead choosing to glare at the remaining Galran as he stood, amber eyes fixating on the group. Keith saw Shiro give an almost bodily shudder from the corner of his eye, and by the time his attention was pulled back to Sendak he was already being attacked.

Red snarled as Keith ducked, and she slammed into the Galran full force, burying metal fangs into the Galran's shoulder, and the Galran spat curses in a language Keith found he barely understood. The others used that as their cue to attack, and suddenly it was nearly nine against one as the group tried to defeat the Galran in front of them. Sendak tossed Red from his shoulders into the wall nearby, causing Keith to shout her name out of worry, and the large prosthetic arm of SEndak's whirred to life as he grinned.

"You brats think you can defeat us?" He said with a loud laugh, his one-eyed gaze running over each of them as he exposed sharp fangs.

"I know we can!" Allura snapped, and Lance shot an arrow at Sendak, piercing his shoulder as he was distracted by the Princess. Sendak snarled, and Shiro charged, his bionic arm clashing with Sendak's.

"Keith! Go check on Red, we'll handle Sendak!" Pidge shouted, and Keith nodded, running to Red's side as everyone else fought Sendak.

"Red, are you okay?" He asked, kneeling down beside her as she slowly stood up, shaking herself.

 **" _Oh, I'm alright Kitten. Just rusty."_  **She said calmly, smiling at Keith and brushing against his legs. **_"Now then... Let's kick is butt!"_  **Red cheered, running back into the fight and growling as she attacked Sendak's leg. Keith grinned, using the distraction to join in as well. He punched Sendak in the face, knocking the Galra back while Lance shot another arrow, burying it in Sendak's chest. Sendak snarled in pain, an animalistic growl that sent shivers down everyone's spines as he doubled over in pain. Shiro attacked, then, kicking him into the air before punching him as he came back down. Sendak flew into the wall, a sharp screeching noise coming from him before he burst into smoke and ash like all the monsters they faced before. The group stared at where he had been, jumping when a bright flash came from behind, accompanied by the sound of doors opening. 

Coran grinned, clapping happily. "Well done Paladins! We've beaten the first temple!" He said happily, and that had the others cheering and laughing as well. Keith smiled, happy they managed to do it without much trouble. He gasped in surprise as Hunk scooped him up into a hug with Lance, feeling himself be squished comfortably into Hunk's side.

"Alright! We did it!" The bigger male cheered, before setting them down at Lance's request. Keith wobbled slightly at he was put down, adrenaline starting to drain from his system and be replaced with an amount of exhaustion he didn't even realize he was capable of having.

 _ **"It's not done yet, Paladins."** _ Red said, and the group looked at her with worried eyes. The red lion chuckled, turning and motioning towards the door leading outside. **_"I believe one of you was going to get your lion?"_**

 ** _"Shiro, I'm afraid you have something you need to do, too."_**  Black added, walking to her chosen's side before nudging him towards the opening. **_"Go outside ahead of the others with me, and we'll handle this quickly."_** Shiro frowned, looking down at Black in confusion. "Okay, but what is it I'm doing exactly?"

Black sighed, shaking her head when Shiro started walking. **_"It's time for you to do_ that _, Shiro. I imagine you don't want the others watching you."_**

Shiro's eyes widened slightly and he slapped his human hand to his face. "Oh yeah. I forgot about that."

"Forgot what?" Keith and Pidge asked at nearly the same time, and Shiro looked at the others from over his shoulder.

"Um, I'll explain later. Just wait a few minutes, okay guys?" He said with a small nervous smile, and Keith felt his heart squeeze a little painfully. Let Shiro out of his sights right after an attack? What if something else attacked and he couldn't get to him in time?

"Shiro-"

"I'll be okay, Keith." Shiro cut in, smiling at Keith like he knew what was going through his head. "I promise."

Keith stepped back then, hanging his head a bit and nodding. He knew that he looked like a scolded child, but he couldn't help but worry. What if they lost Shiro again?

Shiro went through the door then, Black following. The moment Black's tail disappeared from sight, Allura rushed over to Keith, grabbing his shoulders and startling the group.

"How did you know his name?" She asked, nails digging into his shoulders and eyes flaring with anger even though her voice was level and calm. Keith stared at her with wide eyes, mouth open slightly in surprise.

"Allura!" Lance gasped, and Hunk took a step forward, eyebrows furrowed.

"You should have never met Lotor before! How did you know his name?!"

 _ **"I told him!"**_ Red growled, tail lashing side to side. **_"He asked about the Galrans and I told him some information! Now let go of him, Princess, and remember where you stand."_** Allura quickly let go, but her eyes still held mistrust in them as she pointed to Keith while looking at Red.

"He should have told us, then!"

 _**"My chosen is not** _ **required** _**to say anything. It was not important information at the time, as I thought all the bad Galrans were either dead or sealed away. Each chosen would have found out eventually, seeing as they could ask their lions the same questions. You know this, Allura."** _

Allura bristled slightly at the lion's words, but she took a deep breath and stepped back a bit further, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again. "Yes, you're right. Perhaps I am just paranoid." She said softly, looking at Keith. "I apologize for snapping at you like that, Keith."

Keith blinked, still trying to catch up to what was happening. "Oh, no... It's fine Princess." He said softly, rubbing the back of his neck nervously before looking back towards the door leading out of the dungeon. He heard Shiro call from outside, letting them know it was okay. to come outside now.

Keith went outside then, hissing slightly as he was blinded by sunlight. His breath caught in his throat when his eyesight adjusted and he climbed up the steps, seeing the other version of Shiro- no, Takashi, standing at the end of the pathway dressed in regal purple and black robes, looking up into the sky like he was contemplating something, hair clinging to his forehead from being wet, before he looked over to where he was, and gave Keith the brightest, most loving of smiles. Keith blinked then, and the illusion was gone.

Shiro stood there in Takashi's place, hair damp and pulling on his shoes as he leaned against a pillar. He looked up at the sound of footsteps, and froze as he looked at Keith, before shaking his head and offering a small smile to the full group as they joined the two. Shiro stepped away from the pillar, and Keith stepped forward when he saw a lion emblem like that in the Goddess Statue back on Skyloft, accompanied beside a pedestal with a bayard resting on it, wrapped in a blue force field- like dome.  He jumped across two of the platforms, holding his arm up and waiting for his bayard to charge. He swung at the emblem, and it started to spin, accompanied with a majestic roar.

A bright light flashed, the needed tablet appearing and floating to Keith's hands. He took hold of it, watching as the dome over the bayard dematerialized, and a lion spirit appeared, the colored parts of the metal blue. The lion stretched, yawning languidly before giving. full bodied shake. Red and Black stepped forward then, probably grinning at their sister.

 _ **"Blue!"**_ They shouted excitedly, and the lion finally looked up, her eyes lighting up happily.

 _ **"Black! Red!"**_ She cheered, bounding over to them before looking at the group of people. She looked over each of them, before gasping and barreling herself at Lance. _**"You! You're my new** **chosen!"**_ She said excitedly, and Lance grinned.

"Seriously?!"

The lion nodded, bounding towards her bayard. _**"Yep! Come and get your bayard, Lance!"** _

Lance ran over to the bayard, hesitating when he got there. Keith could see the gears in his head turning, hoping the lion wasn't wrong. Keith could feel it, though. He could feel that this was Lance's bayard. This was his element. Lance took a deep breath before picking up the bayard, and when he did it glowed a brilliant blue, the lion spirit engulfed in the same light. When the glow diminished, the lion had a physical body like Black and Red, and the bayard in Lances hands had formed some sort of blaster, which only made Lance grin.

"Cool! It's like an upgraded version of my bow and arrows!" He said excitedly, and the lions nodded. _**"You know what the best part is?"**_ Blue asked him mischievously, and Lance shook his head, excited to hear the answer. Blue's grin only grew, and she bounced around him in a circle. _**"It never runs out!"**_

Lance's expression brightened, but before he could continue to say anything, Hunk, Pidge and Coran gave him small cheers of congratulations, reminding both Lance and the Lion that they could talk and learn more about each other once they were back in Skyloft.

Lance's bayard transformed back into the handle, and he hooked it to his belt as he jumped down onto the platform in front of Keith, grinning at the group. "Okay. We got the tablet and the next bayard. Shall we head back to Skyloft now?"

At his question, eager groans of "Yes" came from the paladins, and the group gladly made their way out of the temple after looking around a bit more to make sure they didn't miss anything.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .....I'm sorry this is so late.... no excuses other than really bad writer's block.
> 
> Also yay! Season 3 is out now! It was a lot less heartbreaking than I had thought it would be, and that's all I'm saying about it.

When the group got back to Skyloft, Keith sighed as he landed on Aka's back, all tension in his body melting as his head cleared completely while his Loftwing cooed a soft welcome. He closed his eyes, letting the wind surround him and calm him. He heard Lance's lion let out a happily whoop and laugh, and he could imagine her spinning around in the air.

It was nice to be home.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Lance asked, and Keith slowly opened his eyes, turning to look at the teen. "Are we just going to get my outfit changed and go, or are we staying for a bit?"

"I think we should stay for a bit!" Pidge said, before elaborating, "I want to study some samples I got, see if I can upgrade our weapons to fight those monsters better." She turned to Hunk then. "Think you could help me with it, Hunk?"

"Sure thing!" Hunk grinned, Lega trilling in agreement as she flew beside Prasinus.

"Shiro?" Keith asked, looking to see what Shiro thought was the best course of action.

"I recommend we stay, Shiro." Black suggested, with the other lions nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, just a day!" Blue assured, prancing around the Black Paladin and his loftwing. "I want to get to known my Paladin more before we have to fight!"

Shiro was quiet for a few minutes, before letting out a sigh, his features softening as he smiled at the group. Keith felt his heart race a bit when Shiro's gaze landed on him, and Keith mentally slapped himself. "Alright. We'll stay for a day, but tomorrow evening we need to be back down there to get the next Bayard and tablet, okay?"

"Yes sir!" Lance gave Shiro a mock salute before whooping and flying on down to town, Pidge and Hunk not to far behind. Keith watched them go, turning to Shiro when his voice was said.

"Is there anything you want to do, Keith?"

'Maybe...' He thought, and he gave Shiro a simple shrug. "I was honestly planning on sleeping back at home... what about you?"

Shiro looked out at the town, letting out a soft sigh. "I think... I'll wander around town a bit. Visit my parents." He paused for a moment, looking back at Keith, his expression fond. Keith felt his heart ache a little from the look.

"Can I come visit the house when I'm done?"

"Of course!" Keith said, a little too quickly. He paused, taking in a small breath. "Of course. It's the home we found together, I'm not going to kick you out of it."

Shiro laughed, light and airy, and Keith avoided his eyes as he felt his cheeks heat up from the sound. it was so _familiar_ , and it was shocking how much he craved to hear it again. He stared wondering if those were his feelings, or the feelings of Kitharas for the Original Black Paladin. They looked so similar, after all.

"I was just making sure." Shiro said with a smile in his voice. "I don't want to impose."

"You could _never_ impose."

After saying that, Keith left on Aka, flying to the graveyard and slipping into the shed that led to his home. He wandered down the walkway with a steadily growing relaxation and calmness, knowing that this was _home_ , and it had never felt so nice without Shiro beside him here before. It still felt off without him, but it didn't plague Keith's mind as much anymore. He wondered if it was because Shiro was just above him, visiting the people of Skyloft.

He felt like some sort of static wash over him momentarily as he reached the door to his home, dulling his senses and making him dizzy as he felt like he was slipping back into another flashback. Red pressed against his side as he tilted and stumbled, keeping him upright as he blinked away the dizziness, a hand on the door to help keep him steady. He panted softly, a headache starting behind his eyes that made him groan almost pitifully.

 ** _"Come, Kitten. You need rest. Perhaps it will lighten your ailment."_** She suggested, her tone a soft one Keith hadn't heard in years. It made him feel small, vulnerable, and yet it comforted him, all the same.

He entered the house with Red and stumbled over to his bed, not bothering to take off any of his clothes as he fell onto it, curling up with his feet hanging just slightly off the bed. He vaguely heard Red sigh, felt warmth wrap over his torso, and he slipped into sleep.

  _Harsh heat enveloped Keith, stifling his breath and causing someone beside him to let out a pitiful groan. He looked to the side, where the source was, and saw a rather pretty.. Mermaid? Beside him, wiping her brow of sweat with a scaly arm. She frowned at the heated temple, other hand going up to fan herself, her dark brown hair fluttering lightly around her blue shoulders._

 _"Listen, I know I said I'd come along, but know one told me it was going to be making sure we don't drown in_ lava _." She said with another heavy sigh, and Keith had to agree with her. The heat was suffocating. He looked down at his hands, noting the purple fur along them that crept under the light armor he wore._

_Although the fact he had fur might attribute to the heat._

_He jumped slightly when he felt a familiar arm wrap around his waist, pulling him into an equally familiar body._

_"Come now, Meri. We did say it wasn't going to be a temple you enjoyed." Takashi said with a small chuckle. Keith relaxed against his body when he felt his thumb creating carefully pressured circles on his hip, not having realized how tense he was until then._

_"You already did the one I'd enjoy!" The Zora whined, and a creature with a slightly rock-like appearance gave the girl a reassuring smile._

_"It's not so bad, Meri. I packed plenty of water." The Balmeran said softly, and the Zora groaned again, but smiled kindly at the Balmeran._

_"Thank you, Flint, that's very kind of you." Meri smiled then, laughing a bit. "I'll stay hydrated, no worries."_

_"I hope so." Another girl hummed- one of the Olkari, Keith noted- and they started going through the temple._

_The scene changed in a blur of color and echoing shouts of names. Ash filled Keith's mouth and lungs, and he coughed harshly, vision blurring as his eyes watered. He was trying to get on his feet again, his stomach feeling like it was split open and his back feeling like it was on fire. Keith shuddered, a faint whine slipping from his lips as the muscles along his back stretched and hot pain seared his nerves. He could see Meri laying unconscious on the ground near him, her bayard laying a few feet away. Her arms were covered in burns._

_He yelped as he was suddenly lifted, thrashing as he panicked. "It's okay!" Flint said quickly, and Keith stilled, realizing it was Flint who had tossed him over their shoulder. "Neftral told me to grab you before getting out of the way!"_

_"Why?" Keith rasped, coughing a moment after. His lungs felt like they were on fire. "W-What happened?"_

_"I'll explain later!" Flint explained, and a moment later he jumped off a short ledge, ducking behind it as Takashi, carrying an unconscious Meri, hopped down a second later._

_Keith struggled to fill his lungs with air, and the dust that accompanied a large_ BOOM! _did nothing to help._

_The scene changed again, darkness flooding Keith's vision as footsteps echoed in quiet halls. His head throbbed._

_Lifting his heavy head, Keith's eyes struggled to focus the room in front of him, his night vision cutting through the darkness with ease. His breath caught in his throat._

_He recognized this place._

_He shouted as his head was suddenly yanked back by his hair, exposing his neck for anyone who appeared in front of him._

_"You thought you could escape?" A deep voice growled, making Keith's hair stand on end. "You and your_ Godling _will never escape us. We know every move you'll make, even before you do." Keith shivered as Lotor leaned down, breath tickling his ear. "Hand over Voltron, Kitharas... Just let us win."_

 _"I will_ never _betray the Goddess and the Surface-Dwellers."  Kitharas growled, glaring at the Galran above him. He grit his teeth as his head was craned even further back, feeling bones pop._

_"Then I'll just get rid of you now." Lotor said darkly, and Keith felt a cold, sharp blade was pressed to his throat, a subtle pressure-_

Keith woke up with a scream.

His hand flew to his throat, feeling for any break in the skin as he panted and tried to remember how to breathe. He felt sick to his stomach, swallowing down a lump in his throat when he thought of the heat, of the pain and unease that Kitharas had been feeling in the temple. What had caused the paladins to fall prey to attacks so easily that the two Paladins most affected by the heat were the ones hurt most?

A knock on the door caught his attention, and Keith slowly forced himself to sit up, feeling a phantom pain in his limbs but not feeling any excruciating pain left by the nightmare. Had Kitharas been killed by Lotor after Zarkon was sealed?

He stumbled as he stood from the bed, not trusting his voice enough to call for the person at the door. A comforting presence pressed against his side, and Keith let out a relieved sigh when he saw Red pressed against him, keeping him steady.

"Keith?" Shiro's voice called from behind the wooden door. "Hey, are you okay in there?"

Keith let out a soft gasp, and before he could stop himself he spoke loud enough to be heard. "I'm okay! The door's open!" He pointedly ignored how his voice shook as he spoke.

Red let out a worried rumble as Shiro opened the door, a small frown in his face. "Hey, Keith, I know the house isn't easily accessible, but-" He cut off when he looked over to where Keith and Red were, his eyes growing wid. "You're shaking." He said instead, one hand gently taking hold of Keith's arm while the other rested on his cheek. "What happened?"

"It's was just a nightmare, Shiro." He said softly, surprised at how easily he relaxed into the black paladin's touch. "It's nothing."

"It's not nothing... I haven't seen you shake this bad in years."

"I didn't even notice it." Keith murmured, fighting back against Shiro's gentle push towards the bed.

"You should lay down again." Shiro said softly, and Keith shook his head.

"Really, I'll be fine in just a few minutes, Takashi." The name slipped off his tongue with ease, startling the both of them and making Keith pull away from Shiro quickly, his heart starting to race in his chest. "I- sorry, I just-"

Shiro blinked almost owlishly at Keith, the same look in his eyes from when they had been at the original black paladin's home. "You don't need to be sorry, Keith." He said, the look vanishing as he spoke. Keith gulped nervously, looking down. He hadn't actually called Shiro by his given name before.

"I know you don't like it, though."

Shiro sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed and patting the spot next to him. "For some reason, it doesn't feel wrong when you say it." He said softly, smiling at Keith with a gentle smile that nearly made Keith's heart melt entirely. It had been so long since he last saw that smile. Keith smiled gently at him, looking down nervously as he sat beside Shiro.

They were quiet, for a while, before Keith finally spoke again. "It's good to have you back, Shiro."

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are appreciated!  
> Come talk to me on tumblr at timetoshine16


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